The list of Spelman College people includes notable alumnae and faculty of Spelman College.
| Name | Class year | Notability | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stacey Abrams | 1995 | Politician, House Minority Leader for the Georgia General Assembly and State Representative for the 89th House District; first African-American woman in the U.S. to win a major party's nomination for governor | |
| Adrienne Adams | 1982 | First African-American speaker of the New York City Council | |
| Erika Anderson | 2012 | Engineer, noted advocate for women of color in STEM | |
| Tina McElroy Ansa | 1971 | Author, Baby of the Family, Ugly Ways, The Hand I Fan With, and You Know Better | [1] |
| Blanche Armwood | 1906 | Educator, activist; first African-American woman in the state of Florida to graduate from an accredited law school; Armwood High School in Tampa, FL is named in her honor | |
| AverySunshine | 1998 | Singer and pianist | |
| Brenda S. Banks | 1971 | Archivist, Deputy Director of the Georgia Department of Archives and History and founder of Banks Archives Consultants | [2] |
| Mary Barksdale | 1942 | Past president, Jack and Jill | |
| Loretta Copeland Biggs | 1976 | Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina | |
| Janet Bragg | 1931 | Aviation pioneer; first African-American woman to obtain a commercial pilot license | |
| Rosalind G. Brewer | 1984 | Chief Executive Officer, Walgreens; Chief Operating Officer, Starbucks; Executive Vice President, Walmart Stores, Inc. and President Walmart Stores South, USA; Board of Directors, Lockheed Martin | |
| Ada E. Brown | 1996 | First African-American woman federal judge in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas | |
| Linda Goode Bryant | 1981 | Documentary filmmaker, Flag Wars ; Peabody Award winner and 2004 Guggenheim Fellow | |
| Selena Sloan Butler | 1888 | Founder of first black parent-teacher organization, the National Congress for Colored Parents & Teachers; co-founder of the National Parent-Teacher Association | |
| Sheila L. Chamberlain | 1981 | Pilot, lawyer | |
| Pearl Cleage | 1971 | Novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and journalist | [1] |
| Lisa Cook | 1986 | First African-American woman to be confirmed as a Federal Reserve governor | [3] |
| Taylor Darling | 2004 | Elected official from the 18th district of the New York State Assembly | |
| Cassi Davis | 1988 | Actress, House of Payne | |
| Ethel McGhee Davis | 1919 | Student Adviser and Dean of Women at Spelman College | |
| Ruth A. Davis | 1966 | First and to date only African American female to reach the personal rank of Career Ambassador. This is the highest rank within the U.S. Foreign Service and equivalent to four star general in the military; 24th Director General of the United States Foreign Service; director, Foreign Service Institute and two-time recipient of the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service | |
| Phire Dawson | 2008 | "Barker's Beauty" on The Price Is Right | |
| Mattiwilda Dobbs | 1937 | Opera singer; served on the Board of Directors for the Metropolitan Opera and the National Endowment for the Arts | [1] |
| Marian Wright Edelman | 1960 | Founder of the Children's Defense Fund; MacArthur Fellow; Heinz Award; Presidential Medal of Freedom | [1] |
| Christine King Farris | 1948 | Public speaker and educator who taught at Spelman College, eldest and last living sibling of the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. | |
| Eleanor Ison Franklin | 1948 | Medical physiologist and endocrinologist | |
| Tia Fuller | 1998 | Saxophonist, composer, and educator | |
| Nora A. Gordon | 1888 | Began the tradition of Spelman missionary work to Africa [4] | |
| Beverly Guy-Sheftall | 1966 | Author, feminist scholar, founder of Women's Research and Resource Center at Spelman College | |
| Evelynn M. Hammonds | 1976 | Dean of Harvard College, Professor of the History of Science and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University | |
| Marcelite J. Harris | 1964 | First African-American woman to obtain the rank of General in the United States Air Force | |
| Paula Hicks-Hudson | 1973 | First African-American female mayor of Toledo, Ohio | |
| Pamela Gunter-Smith | 1973 | First African-American president of York College of Pennsylvania | |
| Varnette Honeywood | 1972 | Creator of the Little Bill character | [1] |
| Clara Ann Howard | 1887 | Baptist missionary in Africa, longtime Spelman staff | |
| Alexine Clement Jackson | 1956 | Chair, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and former National President of the YWCA | |
| Adrienne-Joi Johnson | 1988 | Actress, House Party , Baby Boy | |
| Bernette Joshua Johnson | 1964 | First African-American and second female Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court | [5] |
| Clara Stanton Jones | 1934 | First African-American president of the American Library Association | |
| Tayari Jones | 1991 | Award-winning author of An American Marriage and English professor at Emory University | |
| Bettina Judd | 2005 | Artist and poet | [6] |
| Annie Brown Kennedy | 1945 | Politician and lawyer; first Black woman to serve in the North Carolina House of Representatives | [7] |
| Alberta Williams King | (high school) | Mother of Martin Luther King Jr. | |
| Bernice King | 1986 | President, SCLC, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. | |
| Audrey F. Manley | 1955 | President Emerita of Spelman College, former Assistant Surgeon General of the United States, former Acting Surgeon General of the United States | |
| Marian Mereba | 2011 | Singer, songwriter, and producer | |
| Harriet Mitchell Murphy | 1949 | First African-American female judge in Texas | [8] |
| Tanya Walton Pratt | 1981 | Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana | |
| Deborah Prothrow-Stith | 1975 | First female Commissioner of Public Health for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Professor at Harvard School of Public Health | [1] |
| Keshia Knight Pulliam | 2001 | Actress The Cosby Show , House of Payne | |
| Reisha Raney | CEO of Encyde Corporation and first black women to serve as a Maryland state officer in the Daughters of the American Revolution | ||
| Tanika Ray | 1994 | Actress and television personality | [9] |
| Bernice Johnson Reagon | 1970 | Founder of Sweet Honey in the Rock; MacArthur Fellow; Professor Emeritus American University Curator Emeritus, Smithsonian Institution National Museum American History; National Humanities Medal; Heinz Award | [1] |
| LaTanya Richardson | 1971 | Actress ( The Fighting Temptations , Losing Isaiah , Malcolm X ) and wife of actor Samuel L. Jackson | [1] |
| Ruby Robinson | 1963 | Civil rights activist, Executive Secretary of SNCC | |
| Shaun Robinson | 1984 | Co-anchor, Access Hollywood ; former host, TV One Access | |
| Esther Rolle | attended | Actress, Good Times | |
| Dovey Johnson Roundtree | 1938 | Trial attorney, military veteran, AMEC minister, and civil rights pioneer; landmark case: Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company | |
| Eva Rutland | 1937 | Author, When We Were Colored: A Mother's Story; winner of the 2000 Golden Pen Lifetime Achievement Award, and author of more than 20 romance novels | |
| Kiron Skinner | 1981 | College professor and former Director of Policy Planning at the United States Department of State | |
| Brenda V. Smith | 1980 | Law professor, American University; appointed by Nancy Pelosi to the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission | |
| Daphne L. Smith | 1980 | First African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics from MIT | |
| Maxine Smith | 1949 | Academic, civil rights activist, and school board official | [10] |
| Hemlocke Springs | 2021 | Singer, songwriter, and producer | |
| Sharmell Sullivan | 1990 | Miss Black America 1991, "TNA Knockout", and wife of professional wrestler Booker T | |
| Sue Bailey Thurman | 1920 | Founder and first chairperson, National Council of Negro Women's National Library | |
| Alice Walker | attended | Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, The Color Purple | [1] |
| Talitha Washington | 1996 | African-American mathematician and STEM activist | |
| Rolonda Watts | 1980 | Journalist, actor, writer, former talk show host | |
| Ella Gaines Yates | 1949 | First African-American director of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System |