List of people associated with Somerville College, Oxford

Activists and feminists

• Eleanor Acland (1878-1933), a British Liberal Party politician, suffragist, and novelist; President of the Women's Liberal Federation
• Ruth Adler^[5] (1944–1994), feminist, human rights campaigner and child welfare advocate; founder of Amnesty International's Scotland and of Scottish Women's Aid and helped to establish the Scottish Child Law Centre
• Dame Hester Adrian, Baroness Adrian (1899-1966), mental health worker; president of the Howard League for Penal Reform
• Rachel Armitage^[6] (1873–1955), New Zealand welfare worker and community leader; first New Zealand woman BA to complete a degree at Oxford
• Alison Assiter (1949), Professor of Feminist Theory
• Jasodhara Bagchi (1937–2015), leading Indian feminist critic and activist
• Jane Esdon Brailsford (1874–1937), Scottish suffragette
• Margaret Bramall (1916-2007), social worker and charity director; led the Gingerbread from 1963 to 1979
• Vera Brittain^{[7][8][9][10]} (1893–1970), Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse, writer, feminist, and pacifist; author of Testament of Youth
• Stella Browne (1880–1955), Canadian-born feminist, socialist, sex radical, and birth control campaigner; one of the first women to speak out in somewhat offensive ways about her beliefs with a "Forward, Charge!" approach
• Cicely Corbett Fisher^[11] (1885–1959), suffragist and workers' rights activist
• Ann Dummett (1930–2012), activist, campaigner for racial justice and published author
• Honora Enfield (1882–1935), co-operative activist and founder of the International Women's Co-operative Guild
• Lilian Faithfull (1865–1952), teacher, headmistress, women's rights advocate, magistrate, social worker and humanitarian; one of the "Steamboat ladies" who were part of the struggle for women to gain university education
• Lettice Fisher (1875–1956), founder of the National Council for the Unmarried Mother and her Child, now known as Gingerbread; wife of H. A. L. Fisher
• Dame Evelyn Fox^[12] (1874–1955), noted health worker and driving force for the creation of the British Epilepsy Association (BEA) and National Association for Mental Health (now Mind)
• Julia Gasper, independent academic specialising in historical literature, and a right-wing political activist affiliated with the English Democrats
• Katie Ghose (1970), campaigner and lawyer; Chief Executive of the Women's Aid Federation of England and former Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society
• Margaret Hills (1882–1967), teacher, suffragist organiser, feminist and socialist; first female councillor on Stroud District Council
• Clare Hodges (1957–2011), activist who advanced the medical understanding of cannabis and campaigned for its widespread benefit as a therapeutic medicine
• Winifred Holtby^[13][14][10] (1898–1935), novelist, journalist and suffragist, now best known for her novel South Riding and editor of the feminist magazine Time and Tide. The rights to the book were given to Somerville by Holtby on her death. The Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize was named after her.
• Svava Jakobsdóttir (1930–2004), one of Iceland's foremost 20th-century authors and feminist politicians
• Freshta Karim (1992), Afghan children's rights activist and television presenter; featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30 selection and in the BBC 100 Women in 2021
• Gurmehar Kaur (1996), Indian student activist and author of Small Acts of Freedom; included by Time Magazine in their "10 Next Generation Leaders" list for 2017
• Judith Kazantzis (1940–2018), poet and political and social activist
• Genevieve Lloyd (1941), Australian philosopher and feminist; first female Professor of Philosophy in Australia; author of The Man of Reason
• Sheila MacDonald Lochhead, British prison reform activist, daughter of Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald
• Florence MacAulay (1862–1945), suffragist; wrote the lyrics to The Women's Marseillaise
• Margaret Mackworth, 2nd Viscountess Rhondda (1883–1958), Welsh peeress, businesswoman, significant suffragette, RMS Lusitania survivor, first female director of the Institute of Directors, founder of Time and Tide and the Six Point Group
• Jenny Manson (1948), British Jewish activist, author, former civil servant, Labour Party councillor and Chair of Jewish Voice for Labour
• Christabel Marshall (1871–1960), campaigner for women's suffrage; playwright and author
• Jean Medawar (1913–2005), author; former chairman of the Family Planning Association; wife of Nobelist Sir Peter Brian Medawar
• Edith Morley OBE (1875–1964), literary scholar, activist and suffragette; first female professor in Britain
• Eddie Ndopu (1990), Namibian human rights and disability advocate; recognized by Pacific Standard as one of their "top 30 thinkers under 30", by Shaw Trust and Powerful Media as one of the 50 most influential people with disabilities in the world, and by South Africa's Mail & Guardian as one of their "top 200 young South Africans"^[15]
• Ann Oakley (1944), sociologist, feminist, and writer; author of The Men's Room
• Adelaide Plumptre (1874–1948), Canadian activist, diplomat, and municipal politician in Toronto; first woman elected chair of the Canadian Red Cross, Toronto Board of Education; first woman to sit in the Toronto Board of Control
• Margaret Pyke (1893–1937), family planning activist and pioneer; founding member of the British National Birth Control Committee (NBCC), later known as the Family Planning Association (FPA)
• Eleanor Rathbone^[16] (1872–1946), independent MP; long-term campaigner for family allowance and for women's rights; member of the Rathbone family; Somerville's first MP
• Elizabeth Anne Reid (1942), Australian development practitioner, feminist and academic; world's first advisor on women's affairs to a head of government
• Jean Robinson (1896-1963), first blind British woman to graduate from university
• Phoebe Sheavyn (1865-1968), literary scholar and feminist; a professor at Victoria University of Manchester and founding member of the British Federation of University Women
• Lucy Sichone^[17][18] (1954–1998), Zambian civil rights activist; first Zambian woman to receive a Rhodes Scholarship; first woman to have her portrait displayed on the walls of the prestigious Rhodes House
• Angela Sinclair-Loutit^[19] (1921–2016), social justice activist, pacifist and nurse; first female member of the Friends' Ambulance Unit.
• Princess Catherine Hilda Duleep Singh^[20] (1871–1942), daughter of Maharaja Duleep Singh and suffragist
• Cornelia Sorabji^[21] (1866–1954), first woman to practice law in India and Britain; first Indian national to study at any British university
• Hannah Stanton (1913-1993), social worker and anti-apartheid activist
• Radhabai Subbarayan^[16][22] (1891–1960), first female member of the Indian Council of States (Rajya Sabha)
• Summia Tora, Afghan campaigner for women's and refugee rights and a social entrepreneur; included on the BBC's 100 Women list in 2023.
• Farhana Yamin (1965), lawyer, public speaker and climate activist

Architects

• Bessie Charles^[23] (1869–1932), architect; with her sister Ethel the first woman to study architecture at University College London
• Ethel Charles^[23] (1871–1962), architect; first woman to be admitted to the Royal Institute of British Architects
• Diana Rowntree (1915–2008), architect and architectural writer; first architectural writer for The Guardian

Archivists

• Sonia Anderson (1944–2020), archivist
• Alice Prochaska (1947), former archivist and librarian; Principal of Somerville College
• Joan Sinar (1925–2015), archivist who set up the county record offices for Devon and Derbyshire

Artists

• Fanchon Fröhlich (1922 – 2020), American artist
• Holly Somerville, botanical artist

Authors

• Janet Adam Smith (1905–1999), writer, editor, literary journalist and champion of Scottish literature; assistant editor of The Listener
• Caroline Alexander (1956), American author and classicist; first woman to publish a full-length English translation of Homer's Iliad
• Jo Baker (1973), writer; author of Longbourn
• Elspeth Barker (1940), Scottish novelist and journalist
• Reem Bassiouney (1973), Egyptian author and professor of sociolinguistics; Sawiris Cultural Award winner
• Nina Bawden^[10] (1925–2012), novelist and children's writer; shortlisted for the Booker Prize and Lost Man Booker Prize; one of very few who have both served as a Booker judge and made a Booker shortlist as an author; winner of the Guardian Prize and Phoenix Award
• Lucy M. Boston^[10] (1892–1990), novelist who wrote for children and adults; best known for her "Green Knowe" series; winner of the Carnegie Medal
• Marjorie Boulton^[24][25] (1924–2017), author and poet writing in both English and Esperanto
• Vera Brittain^{[7][8][9][10]} (1893–1970), Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse, writer, feminist, and pacifist; author of Testament of Youth
• Christine Brooke-Rose^[26] (1923–2012), writer and literary critic, known principally for her later, experimental novels
• Dame A. S. Byatt^[10] (1936-2023), novelist, poet and Booker Prize and Erasmus Prize winner; one of The 50 greatest British writers since 1945; author of Possession: A Romance
• Lady Susan Chitty (1929-2021), novelist and a writer of biographies
• Elizabeth Coxhead (1909-1979), novelist, biographer, literary critic, journalist and mountaineer
• Anne Crone (1915–1972), Irish novelist and teacher
• Rosemary Dinnage^[27] (1928–2015), author and critic; listed by The Observer as one of Britain's top 300 intellectuals in 2011
• Gertrude Minnie Faulding (1875–1961), novelist and children's writer^[28]
• Geraldine Penrose Fitzgerald (1846–1939), Irish novelist and catholic convert; arguably the first Catholic Oxford woman student
• Penelope Fitzgerald^[29][10] (1916–2000), writer, Booker Prize winner, one of The 50 greatest British writers since 1945; her final novel, The Blue Flower is seen as one of "the ten best historical novels" and won the National Book Critics Circle Award
• Margaret Forster^[10] (1938–2016), novelist, biographer, memoirist, historian and literary critic; author of Georgy Girl and Diary of an Ordinary Woman
• Charis Frankenburg (1892–1985), author; one of the first women eligible for a degree from the University of Oxford; founder of one of the first birth control clinics in England outside London
• Celia Fremlin (1914–2009), writer of mystery fiction; winner of the Edgar Award
• Maggie Gee^[30] (1948), novelist, one of six women among the 20 writers on the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list in 1983; first female Chair of the Royal Society of Literature (RSL)
• Victoria Glendinning^[31] (1937), biographer, critic, broadcaster and novelist; honorary vice-president of English PEN; winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize; Vice-president of the Royal Society of Literature
• Judith Grossman,^[32] American writer
• Alix Hawley (1975), Canadian novelist
• Emma Henderson (1958), author; shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction
• Joanna Hines (1949), writer
• Jane Aiken Hodge^[10] (1917–2009), American-born writer, daughter of Conrad Aiken
• Winifred Holtby^[13][14][10] (1898–1935), novelist, journalist and suffragist, now best known for her novel South Riding and editor of the feminist magazine Time and Tide. The rights to the book were given to Somerville by Holtby on her death. The Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize was named after her.
• Muriel Jaeger^[33] (1892–1969), author who wrote early novels of science fiction as well as plays and non-fiction
• Svava Jakobsdóttir (1930–2004), one of Iceland's foremost 20th Century authors and feminist politicians
• Liz Jensen^[34] (1959), novelist
• Daisy Johnson^[35] (1990), writer; youngest author to be shortlisted for the Booker Prize; winner of the Edge Hill Short Story Prize
• Margaret Kennedy^[9][10] (1896–1967), novelist and playwright; author of The Constant Nymph
• Nicole Krauss^[36] (1974), American author best known for her four novels Man Walks Into a Room, The History of Love, Great House and Forest Dark (which won an award from the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards); selected as one of The New Yorker's "20 Under 40" writers to watch.
• Marghanita Laski^[37] (1915–1988), journalist, radio panellist and novelist
• Margaret Leigh (1894–1973), writer who lived extensively in Scotland and wrote about life in crofting communities
• Gillian Linscott (1944), author and winner of the CWA Historical Dagger
• Dame Rose Macaulay^[9][10] (1881–1958), writer, most noted for her novel The Towers of Trebizond; James Tait Black Memorial Prize winner
• Sheila MacLeod (1939), Scottish author and feminist
• Elizabeth Macneal (1988), author known for her book The Doll Factorý
• Amphilis Throckmorton Middlemore (1891–1931), British writer and teacher
• Dame Iris Murdoch^[7][38][10] (1919–1999), novelist and philosopher born in Ireland; twelfth on a list of The 50 greatest British writers since 1945 and winner of the Booker Prize; author of Under the Net, listed in the Modern Library 100 Best Novels
• Kathleen Nott (1905–1999), poet, novelist, critic, philosopher and editor
• Christine Orr (1899–1963), Scottish novelist, playwright, poet, actor, theatre director and broadcaster; one of the "uninvited eight" instrumental in the founding of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe; one of only three women making a salary over £500 at the BBC before WWII
• Inez Pearn^[37] (1913–1976), novelist
• Hilda Stewart Reid^[9] (1898–1982), novelist and historian
• Michèle Roberts^[10][39] (1949), novelist and poet; shortlisted for the Booker Prize and Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
• Constance Savery^[40][10][41] (1897–1999), author of novels and children's books
• Dorothy L. Sayers^{[7][42][9][10]} (1893–1957), crime writer, poet and playwright; creator of Lord Peter Wimsey; translated Dante's Divine Comedy
• Neil Spring^[43] (1981), Welsh novelist of supernatural horror, known for his bestselling book The Ghost Hunters (2013)
• Hilary Spurling (1940), writer, journalist and biographer; winner of the Whitbread Prize
• Alexander Starritt^[44] (1985), Scottish-German novelist, journalist and entrepreneur
• Clara Linklater Thomson (1867-1934), writer, editor, and educator
• Sylvia Thompson (1902–1968), novelist, writer and public speaker
• Doreen Wallace^[45] (1897–1989), novelist, grammar school teacher and social campaigner
• Laura Wilson (1964), crime-writer; winner of the Prix du Polar Européen and CWA Historical Dagger and shortlisted for the Gold Dagger
• Elizabeth Young, Baroness Kennet (1923–2014), writer, researcher, poet, artist, campaigner, analyst and questioning commentator

Children's writers

• Nina Bawden^[10] (1925–2012), novelist and children's writer; shortlisted for the Booker Prize and Lost Man Booker Prize; one of very few to serve both as a Booker judge and make a Booker shortlist as an author; winner of the Guardian Prize and Phoenix Award
• Lucy M. Boston^[10] (1892–1990), novelist who wrote for children and adults; best known for her "Green Knowe" series; winner of the Carnegie Medal
• Kathryn Cave (1948–2021), hildren's book author; awarded the first international UNESCO prize for Children's and Young People's Literature in the Service of Tolerance for Something Else
• Pauline Clarke (1921–2013), author who wrote for younger children; best known for her The Twelve and the Genii; winner of the Carnegie Medal, Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis and Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
• Olivia Coolidge (1908–2006), British-born American children's writer and educator; runner-up for the Newbery Medal
• Susan Cooper^[10] (1935), author of children's books including The Dark Is Rising; winner of the Newbery Medal and Margaret A. Edwards Award; first woman to edit the Oxford undergraduate newspaper Cherwell
• Gillian Cross^[46][10] (1945), author of children's books; winner of the Carnegie Medal and Costa Book Award; author of The Demon Headmaster
• Gertrude Minnie Faulding^[28] (1875–1961), novelist and children's writer
• Frances Hardinge^[10] (1973), children's writer; author of Fly by Night and The Lie Tree; winner of the Branford Boase Award and Costa Book Award
• Clare Mallory (1913–1991), children's writer from New Zealand
• Constance Savery (1897–1999), author of novels and children's books
• Ann Schlee (1934), novelist and children's writer; winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, shortlisted for the Booker Prize and runner up for the Carnegie Medal
• Matthew Skelton^[10] (1971), English Canadian writer; author of Endymion Spring
• Jenifer Wayne^[47] (1917–1982), author of children's literature

Playwrights

• Marcy Kahan, Canadian-American playwright and radio dramatist; winner of the Edinburgh Comedy Award and a Silver Radio Academy Award
• Margaret Kennedy^[9][10] (1896–1967), novelist and playwright; author of The Constant Nymph
• Nemone Lethbridge (1932), barrister and playwright; one of Britain's first female barristers and the first woman at Hare Court
• Christine Longford, Countess of Longford (1900–1980), playwright; wife of Edward Pakenham, 6th Earl of Longford
• Christabel Marshall (1871–1960), LGBT campaigner for women's suffrage; playwright and author
• Peter Morris (1973), American playwright; writer of Guardians
• Ella Road (1991), screenwriter, playwright and actor, best known for her stage-play The Phlebotomist

Business & finance people

• Marjorie Abbatt (1899–1991), toy maker and businesswoman; President of the International Council for Children's Play^[50]
• Goga Ashkenazi (1980), Kazakh businesswoman and socialite; head of Vionnet
• Margaret Casely-Hayford (1959), lawyer and businesswoman; chairs the board of Shakespeare's Globe; former chair of ActionAid; first female Chancellor of Coventry University; first black woman to be Partner in a City law firm
• Angela Dean, banker and trustee; one of the '100 women to watch' in the Female FTSE Board Report in 2013 and 2014; managing director of Morgan Stanley; Chair of the International House London
• Cindy Gallop (1960), advertising consultant, founder and former chair of the US branch of advertising firm Bartle Bogle Hegarty; founder of the IfWeRanTheWorld and MakeLoveNotPorn companies
• Suzanne Heywood (1969), executive and former civil servant; chair of CNH Industrial
• Afua Kyei, British financial executive and the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Bank of England; included as one of the most influential black people in the UK on the 2024 Powerlist; in 2023 listed among the 100 most reputable Africans
• Catherine Powell (1967), businesswoman, President of the Disney Parks, Western Region, where she oversees Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Disneyland Paris
• Shriti Vadera, Baroness Vadera^[51] PC (1962), investment banker and politician; government minister and Chairwoman of Santander UK; first woman to head a major British bank; first woman and first person of colour to chair the Royal Shakespeare Company

Civil servants and diplomats

• Manel Abeysekera (1933), Sri Lanka's first woman career diplomat and ambassador
• Alyson Bailes (1949–2016), diplomat, political scientist, academic and polyglot
• Gill Bennett, Chief Historian of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office between 1995 and 2005
• Dame Gillian Brown (1923–1999), diplomat; second woman to be a British ambassador
• Dame Mary Keegan (1953), accountant and civil servant; chair of the Financial Reporting Council; first female audit partner at PwC
• Dame Alix Kilroy (1903–1999), one of the first two women to have entered the administrative grade of the civil service by examination (in 1925); founding member of the SDP
• Emily Maltman, British Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo
• Aaron Maniam (1979), award-winning poet and civil servant
• Dame Rosalind Marsden (1950), diplomat and public servant; Ambassador and EUSR of Sudan
• Monica Milne MBE (1917-1980), civil servant; first woman to be appointed to the permanent staff of the Foreign Office
• Dame Anne Mueller (1930–2000), civil servant and academic; first woman to become a Permanent Secretary at HM Treasury; Chancellor of De Montfort University
• Nozipho Mxakato-Diseko^[52] (1956), South African diplomat, currently the United Nations Ambassador for South Africa; for the Paris Agreement she was the leader of the G77 bloc during negotiations
• Adelaide Plumptre (1874–1948), Canadian activist, diplomat, and municipal politician in Toronto First woman elected chair of the Canadian Red Cross, Toronto Board of Education; first woman to sit in the Toronto Board of Control
• Jill Rutter, civil servant
• Catherine Royle^[53] (1963), British Ambassador; Principal of Somerville College
• Dame Evelyn Sharp, Baroness Sharp (1903–1985), civil servant; first woman to hold the position of Permanent Secretary
• Emma Sky (1968), expert on the Middle East; political advisor to General Ray Odierno
• Ruth Thompson (1953–2016), civil servant; director of finance of Higher Education at the DES
• Dame Anne Warburton^[7] (1927–2015), diplomat; first female British ambassador; President of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge
• Carrie Yau (1955), Hong Kong government official; executive director of the Vocational Training Council

Education

• Jane Aaron (1951), Welsh educator, literary researcher and writer
• Marian Gertrude Beard (1885–1958), Irish-born educator and translator; headmistress of Putney High School
• Lalage Bown (1927), educator; first organizing secretary of the International Congress of Africanists; first woman to receive the William Pearson Tolley Award from Syracuse University
• Alice Bruce (1867–1951), educator and school administrator; long serving staff member of Somerville Hall and President of Aberdare Hall in Cardiff
• C. Violet Butler (1884-1982), social researcher and educator
• Alice Mackenzie Cameron (1891-1964), educator who campaigned against unemployment
• Hilda Cashmore (1876-1943), a Quaker who founded the Bristol University Settlement and was its first warden
• Dame Elan Closs Stephens (1948), Welsh educator; pro-chancellor of Aberystwyth University; Chair of the BBC (2023–2024)
• Agnes de Selincourt^[54] (1872–1917), Christian missionary in India, responsible for the founding of missions; first Principal of Lady Muir Memorial College, Allahabad, India; Principal of Westfield College, London
• Donalda Dickie (1883–1972), Canadian normal school teacher; winner of the Governor General's Award for English-language children's literature
• Flora Forster (1896–1981), Welsh educator and author
• Ethel Hurlbatt (1866–1934), Principal of Bedford College, London; first President of Aberdare Hall in Cardiff; later Warden of Royal Victoria College, the women's college of McGill University, in Montreal, Canada
• Julia Huxley (1862–1908), founded Prior's Field School for girls; the game word ladder was devised for her
• Dame Tamsyn Imison (1937–2017), educator and "educational strategist"; headteacher of the Hampstead School
• Sonia Jackson (1934), Emeritus Professor at the UCL Institute of Education; specialised in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC)
• Lettice Jowitt (1878–1962), educationist and refugee worker; pioneer in the settlement movement
• Jane Kirkaldy (1869–1932), science educator at various schools in Oxford for 36 years; one of the first women to obtain first-class honors in the natural sciences; contributed greatly to the education of the generation of English women scientists
• Edith Marvin (1872–1958), inspector of schools
• Winifred Mercier (1878-1934), principal of Whitelands College and advocate of co-educational classes
• Michele Moody-Adams, philosopher; first female and first African-American dean of Columbia University
• Dame Anne Mueller (1930–2000), civil servant and academic; first woman to become a Permanent Secretary at HM Treasury; Chancellor of De Montfort University
• Elisabeth Murray^[55] (1909–1998), English biographer and educationist
• Hilda D. Oakeley (1867–1950), philosopher, educationalist and author; first Warden of the new Royal Victoria College; first woman to deliver McGill's annual university lecture
• May Staveley (1863–1934), first warden of Bristol's women's university settlement (Clifton Hill House); head of the women's hall of residence at Liverpool University; president of the Bristol branch of the International Federation of University Women
• Mary Sturt (1896-1993), educational psychologist and historian of education
• Jean Wilks (1917–2014), headmistress at The Hertfordshire and Essex High School and King Edward VI High School for Girls; first female Pro-Chancellor of Birmingham University
• Olive Willis (1877–1964), educationist and headmistress; founded Downe House School and was its head

Oxbridge heads of houses

• Mary Bennett (1913–2005), academic and Principal of St Hilda's College, Oxford; daughter of H. A. L. Fisher and Lettice Fisher
• Dame Averil Cameron (1940), professor emerita of Late Antique and Byzantine History; former Warden of Keble College, Oxford; second woman to receive the Kenyon Medal
• Elizabeth Millicent Chilver (1914–2014), Principal of Bedford College, London and Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford
• Barbara Craig^[56] (1915–2005), archaeologist, classicist; Principal of Somerville College
• Helen Darbishire^[57] (1881–1961), literary scholar and Principal of Somerville College
• Margery Fry^[58] (1874–1958), prison reformer; one of the first women to become a magistrate; Secretary of the Howard League for Penal Reform; Principal of Somerville College
• Grace Eleanor Hadow (1875–1940), author, principal of what would become St Anne's College, Oxford, and vice-chairman of the Women's Institute
• Dame Kathleen Kenyon (1906–1978), leading archaeologist of Neolithic culture in the Fertile Crescent, best known for her excavations of Jericho; has been called one of the most influential archaeologists of the 20th century; refined the Wheeler-Kenyon method; Principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford
• Julia de Lacy Mann (1891–1985), economic historian and Principal of St Hilda's College, Oxford
• Onora O'Neill, Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve (1941), philosopher; first female winner of the Berggruen Prize; crossbench member of the House of Lords; Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge
• Daphne Park, Baroness Park of Monmouth^[59] (1921–2010), spy, clandestine senior controller in MI6; Principal of Somerville College
• Dame Emily Penrose^[60] (1858–1942), Principal of Royal Holloway College, Bedford College and Somerville College; first woman to gain a First in Greats (Classics) at Oxford
• Alice Prochaska (1947), former archivist and librarian; Principal of Somerville College
• Evelyn Procter (1897–1980), historian and academic; Principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford; first female scholar to be admitted to the National Historical Archive of Spain and the Biblioteca Nacional de España
• Catherine Royle^[53] (1963), diplomat and ambassador; Principal of Somerville College
• Dame Lucy Sutherland (1903–1980), Australian-born historian and head of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford
• Dame Janet Vaughan^[38] (1899–1993), physiologist, academic and Principal of Somerville College; one of the first doctors to enter Bergen-Belsen concentration camp after the liberation
• Dame Anne Warburton^[7] (1927–2015), diplomat; first female British ambassador; President of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge

Fictional

• Gwen Stacy^[61] from Spider-Man went to Somerville to study medicine in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
• Harriet Vane^[63] from Gaudy Night, studied English. Undergraduate at Shrewsbury College, based on Dorothy L. Sayers' own Somerville College.
• The wife of Master Keaton^[64] studied mathematics.
• Mary, Marie, Margaret and Myfanwy^[66] from Larkin's Michaelmas Term at St Bride's
• Grace Ritchie, the protagonist in Slave of the Passion by Deirdre Wilson
• Helena Warner from A Likeness in Stone by Julia Wallis Martin, was a student of Somerville.

Film and theatre

• Daphne Alexander, Cypriot/British actress best known for playing Nadia Talianos in the BBC Drama series Casualty and Modesty Blaise in three BBC radio adaptations
• Lucinda Coxon (1962), playwright and screenwriter
• Lucienne Hill (1923–2012), French-English translator and actor; winner of the Evening Standard Theatre Award and Tony Award
• Penelope Houston (1927–2015), film critic and journal editor; edited Sight & Sound for almost 35 years
• Calam Lynch (1994), actor of Irish descent, his films include the Disney adaptation of Black Beauty (2020) and Terence Davies' Benediction (2021); on television, he appeared in the BBC One drama Mrs Wilson (2018) and the second season of the Netflix series Bridgerton (2022)
• Adrian Politowski (1978), a BAFTA-nominated Swedish film producer, fund manager, and entrepreneur
• Martin Desmond Roe, British-American film and television director, writer and producer, best known for Buzkashi Boys (nominated for an Oscar); nominee for the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film for Two Distant Strangers (2020) at the 93rd Academy Awards
• Tessa Ross (1961), film producer and executive; received the BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award and was named as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour in 2013; executive producer of 12 Years a Slave, 127 Hours, Billy Elliot and Ex Machina
• Moon Moon Sen^[67] (1954), Indian Bollywood film actress; winner of the Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actress and Kalakar Award for Best Actress

Health professionals

• Kathryn Abel, psychiatrist specialising clinically in resistant schizophrenia and gender-specified service developments; co-chair of the Office for Life Sciences
• Margery Abrahams (1896-1983), dietitian who helped organise the Kindertransport scheme to rescue children from the Holocaust; first chairperson of the British Dietetic Association
• Heather Ashton (1929–2019), psychopharmacologist and physician best known for her clinical and research work on benzodiazepene dependence
• Carys Bannister (1935–2010), first female neurosurgeon in the United Kingdom
• Farah Bhatti, cardiac surgeon and professor; Chair of the Royal College of Surgeons of England Women in Surgery Forum; first British woman of Pakistani origins to be made a cardiac surgeon in the United Kingdom
• Lady Eileen Crofton (1919–2010), physician and author; best known for her anti-smoking campaigns
• Ann Dally (1926–2007), author and psychiatrist; one of the first women to study medicine at St Thomas' Hospital
• Jean Ginsburg (1926–2004), physician and physiologist; first woman to graduate from St Mary's Hospital Medical School
• Sylvia Gyde (1936-2024), public health doctor, medical researcher and National Health Service administrator
• Kamila Hawthorne MBE, Welsh medical academic and GP; twice named ‘GP of the Year’
• Christine Lee, medical researcher; first female scholar of the Oxford University Medical School
• Leah Lowenstein (1930–1984), American nephrologist and academic administrator; first woman dean of a co-education medical school in the United States
• Dorothea Maude (1879–1959), physician and surgeon; first woman general practitioner in Oxford
• Helen Muir (1920–2005), rheumatologist; best known for pioneering work into the causes of osteoarthritis
• June Raine (1952), Chief Executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), at the time when the MHRA was the first regulator to approve an mRNA vaccine for use in humans, and the first Western regulator to approve a COVID-19 vaccine
• Dame Janet Vaughan^[38] (1899–1993), physiologist, academic and Principal of Somerville College; one of the first doctors to enter Bergen-Belsen concentration camp after the liberation
• Wisia Wedzicha, physician and Professor of Respiratory Medicine, winner of the Helmholtz International Fellow Award
• Marcia Wilkinson (1919–2013), neurologist; made a significant contribution to the understanding and surgical treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome; established a rehabilitation unit for disabled young people; first recipient of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Award
• Maggie Eisner (1947–2022), British general practitioner
• Cicely Williams (1893–1992), Jamaican physician, most notable for her discovery and research into kwashiorkor

Journalism

• Rose George, journalist and author of The Big Necessity
• Evelyn Irons (1900–2000), Scottish journalist, first female war correspondent to be decorated with the French Croix de Guerre; first journalist to reach certain WWII war zones; first female Stanhope Medal recipient
• Marghanita Laski^[37] (1915–1988), journalist, radio panellist and novelist
• Ty McCormick, American author, editor, and foreign correspondent
• Dilys Powell (1901–1995), journalist who wrote for The Sunday Times
• Anne Scott-James, Lady Lancaster (1913–2009), journalist and author; one of Britain's first women career journalists, editors and columnists
• Alexander Starritt^[44] (1985), Scottish-German novelist, journalist and entrepreneur
• Auriol Stevens (1940), journalist, and former editor of the Times Higher Education Supplement
• Rachel Sylvester (1969), political journalist who writes for The Times; 2015's Political Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards and 2016 Journalist of the Year by the Political Studies Association
• Daniel Tudor, author, journalist and entrepreneur
• Duncan Weldon (1982), journalist, former political advisor, researcher, and market strategist
• Kati Whitaker, BBC and independent radio and TV journalist
• Audrey Withers (1905–2001), journalist; edited Vogue

Historians

• Bolanle Awe (1933), Nigerian and Yoruba history professor; became the Pro-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria and has been called a Nigerian "intellectual hero"; first female academic staff in a Nigerian university and first chairperson of the National Commission for Women (Nigeria)
• Irena Backus, Polish historian
• Jane Caplan (1945), historian specialising in Nazi Germany and the history of the documentation of individual identity; helped establish one of Britain's first courses in Women's Studies
• Muriel St. Clare Byrne (1895–1983), historical researcher, specializing in the Tudor period and the reign of Henry VIII
• Catherine Glyn Davies (1926–2007), Welsh historian of philosophy and linguistics; translator
• Claire Donovan (1948–2019), historian and academic
• Bonnie Effros, Chaddock Chair of Economic and Social History at the University of Liverpool
• Dorothea Ewart (1870-1956), historian and author of books on Italian history
• Kathleen Fitzpatrick^[68] (1905–1990), Australian academic and historian; first associate professor in Australia outside the natural sciences
• Eluned Garmon Jones (1897–1979), Welsh local historian
• Rose Graham (1875–1963), religious historian and first female President of the British Archaeological Association; her early work on ecclesiastical history is seen as a great foundation for later scholarship on women's history
• Alice Greenwood (1862–1935), historian, teacher and writer; second headteacher of Withington Girls' School
• Narayani Gupta (1942), Indian historian, author, and professor on urban history and cultural heritage
• Agnes Headlam-Morley (1902–1986), historian and academic; first woman to be appointed to a chair at Oxford
• Carole Hillenbrand (1943), Emerita Professor in Islamic History; first non-Muslim to be awarded the King Faisal International Prize for Islamic Studies
• Philippa Mary Hoskin, historian of the English Middle Ages, who specializes in the religious, legal and administrative history of the English Church; first Professor of Medieval Studies at the University of Lincoln
• M. D. R. Leys (1890–1967), historian and academic
• Amy Audrey Locke (1881-1916), historian
• Doris Ketelbey (1896–1990), historian and academic; sister to composer Albert Ketelbey
• Amélie Kuhrt (1944-2023), historian and specialist in the history of the ancient Near East
• Julia de Lacy Mann (1891–1985), economic historian and Principal of St Hilda's College, Oxford
• Margaret Mann Phillips (1906–1987), academic who specialized in Renaissance literature and history
• Phoebe Pool (1913–1971), art historian and spy for the Soviet Union
• Edna Purdie (1894-1968), Emeritus Professor of German studies at the University of London
• Mary Caroline Moorman (1905–1994), historian and biographer; daughter of G. M. Trevelyan; winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize
• Jane Robinson (1959), social historian specialising in the study of women pioneers in various fields
• Emma Georgina Rothschild (1948), economic historian and professor of history at Harvard University; wife of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen; member of the Rothschild family
• Zuzanna Shonfield (1919–2000), Polish-born British historian and writer
• Nancy Stepan, focuses on the history of science in Latin America
• Kate Williams^[10] (1978), author, historian and television presenter
• Clair Wills, academic specialising in 20th-century British and Irish cultural history and literature; recipient of the Hessell-Tiltman Prize
• Mary Woodall (1901–1988), art historian, museum director, and Thomas Gainsborough scholar

Classicists and archaeologists

• Caroline Alexander (1956), American author and classicist; first woman to publish a full-length English translation of Homer's Iliad
• Polymnia Athanassiadi, Greek Professor Emerita in Late Antique History
• Winifred Blackman (1872–1950), pioneering Egyptologist, archaeologist and anthropologist; one of the first women to take up anthropology as a profession
• Dame Averil Cameron (1940), professor emerita of Late Antique and Byzantine History; former Warden of Keble College, Oxford; second woman to receive the Kenyon Medal
• Dorothy Charlesworth^[69][70] (1927–1981), Roman archaeologist and glass specialist; served as Inspector of Ancient Monuments
• Gillian Clark, Emeritus Professor of Classics and Ancient History
• Barbara Craig^[56] (1915–2005), archaeologist, classicist; Principal of Somerville College
• A. M. Dale^[71] (1901–1967), classicist and academic
• Claudine Dauphin (1950), French archaeologist specialising in the Byzantine period
• Elaine Fantham (1933–2016), British-Canadian classicist; President of the American Philological Association
• Dorothea Gray (1905-1983), classicist known for her advocacy of pre-classical Greek archaeology
• Miriam T. Griffin (1935–2018), American classical scholar; held the first Women in Classics dinner (at Somerville College)
• Jill Harries,^[72] Emeritus Professor in Ancient History, known for her work on late antiquity
• Isobel Henderson (1906–1967), ancient historian; one of the first woman tutors to be allowed to join Oxford's 'Ancient History Dinners'
• Mary A.B. Herford, early female lecturer in Classical Archaeology at the University of Manchester
• Margaret Hubbard (1924–2011), Australian-born British classical scholar specialising in philology; described as "one of the most distinguished classical scholars of the modern age"; one of St Anne's College's 15 founding fellows
• Helen Hughes-Brock (1938), Minoan and Mycenaean archaeologist
• Sarah C. Humphreys, classical scholar
• Dame Kathleen Kenyon (1906–1978), leading archaeologist of Neolithic culture in the Fertile Crescent, best known for her excavations of Jericho; has been called one of the most influential archaeologists of the 20th century; refined the Wheeler-Kenyon method; Principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford
• Donna Carol Kurtz (1943), American classicist specializing in Greek art; first Beazley Archivist at the Ashmolean Museum
• Maria Millington Lathbury (1856-1944), classical scholar, archaeologist and numismatist; mother-in-law of Arthur Evans
• Irene Lemos, classical archaeologist specialising in the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age of Greece
• Tessa Rajak (1946), ancient historian, primarily focused on Judaism in the Hellenistic and Roman periods; expert on the writings of Josephus
• Joyce Reynolds^[73] (1918–2022), classicist and academic, specialising in Roman historical epigraphy; first woman awarded the Kenyon Medal
• Christina Riggs,^[74] American historian, museum curator, and academic; specialises in the history of archaeology, photography, and ancient Egyptian art
• Katherine Routledge (1866–1935), archaeologist and anthropologist who initiated the first true survey of Easter Island (leader of the Mana Expedition)
• Susan Sherratt (1949), archaeologist of Bronze Age Greece, Cyprus, and the eastern Mediterranean
• Maria Stamatopoulou, Greek classical archaeologist specialising in Central Greece, and Thessaly in particular
• Margerie Venables Taylor^[75] (1881–1963), archaeologist and editor of the Journal of Roman Studies; held posts including Secretary for the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies
• Vivian Wade-Gery (1897–1988), classical archaeologist
• Audrey Williams (1902–1978), Welsh archaeologist; first woman president of the Royal Institution of South Wales
• Katharine Woolley (1888–1945), archaeologist who worked principally at the Mesopotamian site of Ur; married to archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley; inspiration for the murder victim in the novel Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie
• Maria Wyke^[76] (1957), professor of Latin at UCL

Law

• Margaret Casely-Hayford (1959), lawyer and businesswoman; chair of the board of Shakespeare's Globe; former chair of ActionAid
• Lady Fox^[79] (1928-2025), international lawyer and expert in state immunity
• Elisabeth Jones, Welsh lawyer who served as the Counsel General-designate for Wales
• Laeticia Kikonyogo (1940–2017), Ugandan lawyer and judge; rated the 6th most powerful person in Ugandan public life; first woman magistrate Grade I; first woman Chief Magistrate; first woman to be appointed High Court judge; first woman Deputy Chief Justice of Uganda; one of the first ever women papal knights in the history of the Catholic Church in Africa
• Akua Kuenyehia (1947), Ghanaian lawyer; one of the only three female African judges at the International Criminal Court; first First Vice-president of that court
• Nemone Lethbridge (1932), barrister and playwright; one of Britain's first female barristers and the first woman at Hare Court
• Anne M. Lofaso (1965), law professor
• Elizabeth Monk (1898-1980), Canadian lawyer and Montreal city councillor; one of the first two women admitted to the Quebec Bar and first Quebec woman to receive a Queen's Counsel designation; recipient of the Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case and Governor General's Academic Medal
• Ann Olivarius^[17][80] (1955), American-British lawyer and Rhodes Scholar
• Dame Judith Parker (1950), judge and barrister; Queen's Counsel and Justice of the High Court of England and Wales
• Anna Poole, Lady Poole, Senator of the College of Justice in Scotland
• Cornelia Sorabji^[21] (1866–1954), first woman to practice law in India and Britain; first Indian national to study at any British university
• Amy Wax (1953), American lawyer and academic; winner of the Lindback Award
• Farhana Yamin (1965), lawyer, public speaker and climate activist

Linguistics and literature

• Reem Bassiouney (1973), Egyptian author and professor of sociolinguistics; Sawiris Cultural Award winner
• Janet Bately, academic and Professor Emeritus of English Language and Medieval Literature
• Catherine Belsey (1940–2021), literary critic and academic; author of The Subject of Tragedy
• Sonia Bićanić (1920–2017), literary academic, author and translator
• Sarah Bilston,^[81] author and professor of English literature
• Carmen Blacker^[82] (1924–2009), scholar of Japanese language
• Margaret Crum (1921-1986), scholar of English poetry and music, winner of the British Academy's Rose Mary Crawshay Prize
• Lady Norma Dalrymple-Champneys (1902–1997), scholar of English literature; winner of the Rose Mary Crawshay Prize
• Patricia Davies (1923), codebreaker who served as a special duties linguist in the Women’s Royal Naval Service during World War II; she was key in developing programmes such as University Challenge, The Sky at Night, and Ask the Family; recipient of the Victory Medal and the Legion of Honour
• Susie Dent (1964), lexicographer and etymologist; has appeared in "Dictionary Corner" on the Channel 4 game show Countdown since 1992
• Una Ellis-Fermor (1894–1958), literary critic, author; described as "a major contributor to the study of the English Renaissance"; Rose Mary Crawshay Prize winner
• Margery Fisher (1913–1992), literary critic and academic
• Janet Dean Fodor (1942–2023), psycholinguist
• Julia Gasper, independent academic specialising in historical literature; right-wing political activist affiliated with the English Democrats
• Sybil Goulding (fl. 1914–1931), literary critic and academic
• Lorna Hutson (1958), ninth Merton Professor of English Literature
• Agnes Latham (1905–1996), academic, Professor of English at Bedford College
• Dominica Legge^[83] (1905–1986), scholar of the Anglo-Norman language and founding member of the Anglo-Norman Text Society
• Anna Laura Lepschy (1933), Italian linguist; recipient of the Serena Medal
• Joycelynne Loncke, Guyanese academic and musicologist; areas of interest include French literature and the history of music
• Margaret Mann Phillips (1906–1987), academic who specialized in Renaissance literature and history
• Edith Morley OBE (1875–1964), literary scholar, activist and suffragette; first female professor in Britain
• Vivien Noakes (1937–2011), biographer, editor and critic
• Pamela Neville-Sington (1959-2017), American literary biographer and authority on the life and works of Fanny Trollope, Anthony Trollope, and Robert Browning
• Helen Peters (1942), Canadian scholar of English literature and a specialist in the theatre of Newfoundland; winner of the British Academy's Rose Mary Crawshay Prize
• Rebecca Posner (1929–2018), philologist, linguist and academic; specialized in Romance languages; President of the Philological Society
• Phoebe Sheavyn (1865-1968), literary scholar and feminist; a professor at Victoria University of Manchester and founding member of the British Federation of University Women
• Dorjana Širola (1972), Croatian quizzer, linguist and anglicist; highest placed woman at the World Quizzing Championship in seven years; winner of University Challenge for Somerville
• Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies
• Enid Starkie (1897–1970), Irish literary critic known for her biographical works on French poets; Officer of the Legion of Honour
• Kathleen Mary Tillotson (1906–2001), academic and literary critic, professor of English and distinguished Victorian scholar
• Joan Turville-Petre (1911–2006), noted academic in the field of Anglo-Saxon, Icelandic and Scandinavian language studies
• Rosemond Tuve (1903–1964), American scholar of English literature, specializing in Renaissance literature, in particular Edmund Spenser
• Kathleen Mary Williams (1919-1974), Welsh literary scholar
• David Willis, linguist and Celticist; Jesus Professor of Celtic at the University of Oxford
• Deirdre Wilson (1941), linguist and cognitive scientist

Music

• Mary Chandler (1911-1996), composer, oboist, pianist and teacher.
• Harry Escott^[84] (1976), composer
• Sarah Ioannides (1972), Greek Cypriot-Scottish-Australian conductor and Fulbright Scholar
• Dame Emma Kirkby^[85] (1949), soprano; one of the world's most renowned early music specialists; The Queen's Medal for Music winner
• Joycelynne Loncke, Guyanese academic and musicologist; areas of interest include French literature and the history of music
• Grace-Evangeline Mason (1994), composer of contemporary classical music
• Elizabeth Norman McKay (1931–2018), musicologist, pianist and Lieder accompanist
• Jean Redcliffe-Maud, Baroness Redcliffe-Maude (1904–1993), pianist

Other

• Sunethra Bandaranaike (1943), Sri Lankan philanthropist and socialite; daughter of Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
• Sheila Cassidy (1937), doctor and torture survivor who brought to the attention of the UK public the widespread human rights abuses that were occurring in Chile in the 1970s
• Eleanor Flexner (1908–1995), distinguished independent scholar and pioneer in what was to become the field of women's studies
• Flora Grierson (1899–1966), publisher and co-owner of Samson Press
• Amanda Harlech, Baroness Harlech (1959), fashion consultant; named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame; wife of Francis Ormsby-Gore, 6th Baron Harlech
• Emily Georgiana Kemp^[21] (1860–1939), adventurer; donated the Somerville College Chapel
• Frances Lincoln (1945–2001), independent publisher of illustrated books; won a Woman of the Year award in 1995
• Sheila Lochhead (1910-1994), hostess, prison visitor and writer; daughter of UK Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald; chair of the National Association of Official Prison Visitors
• Henrietta Phipps (1931–2016), landscape gardener
• Helge Rubinstein, founder of Ben's Cookies
• Joan Shelmerdine (1899–1994), publisher and co-owner of Samson Press
• Edith Standen (1905–1998), American museum curator and military officer; one of the "Monuments Men"; Women's Caucus for Art Lifetime Achievement Award winner
• Janet Upcott (1888-1985) social worker specialising in housing management
• Pamela Vandyke-Price (1923–2014), wine taster and writer; first British woman to write about wine and spirits; receiver of the Order of Agricultural Merit
• Joan Wicken (1925-2004), personal assistant and speechwriter to Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere
• Marion Wilberforce (1902–1995), Scottish aviator; one of the first eight members of the Air Transport Auxiliary; one of only two women pool commanders in the whole ATA
• Beryl de Zoete^[86] (1879–1962), ballet dancer, orientalist, dance critic and dance researcher; also known as a translator of Italo Svevo and Alberto Moravia

Philosophers

• Anita Avramides (1952), philosopher whose work focuses on the philosophy of language and the philosophy of the mind
• Annette Baier (1929–2012), New Zealand philosopher and Hume scholar; well known also for her contributions to feminist philosophy and to the philosophy of mind
• Susanne Bobzien, German-born philosopher whose work focuses on logic & language, determinism & freedom, and ancient philosophy; first woman appointed a tutorial fellow at The Queen's College, Oxford
• Sarah Broadie,^[87] professor at the University of St Andrews; specialises in ancient philosophy, with a particular emphasis on Aristotle and Plato
• Patricia Churchland (1943), Canadian-American analytic philosopher, noted for her contributions to neurophilosophy and the philosophy of mind; winner of a MacArthur Fellowship
• Philippa Foot^[38] (1920–2010), philosopher and ethicist, creator of the trolley problem
• Celia Green (1935), writer on philosophical skepticism and psychology
• Rosalind Hursthouse (1943), New Zealand moral philosopher noted for her work on virtue ethics
• Hidé Ishiguro (c. 1935), Japanese analytic philosopher; expert on the philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
• Martha Kneale (1909–2001), philosopher; President of the Aristotelian Society
• Genevieve Lloyd (1941), Australian philosopher and feminist; first female Professor of Philosophy in Australia; author of The Man of Reason
• Penelope Mackie, philosopher, Professor of Philosophy University of Nottingham work on modality and necessity
• Mary Midgley (1919–2018), moral philosopher
• Michele Moody-Adams, African-American philosopher; first female and first African-American dean of Columbia University
• Dame Iris Murdoch^[7][38][10] (1919–1999), novelist and philosopher born in Ireland; twelfth on a list of The 50 greatest British writers since 1945; winner of the Booker Prize; author of Under the Net, listed in the Modern Library 100 Best Novels
• Kathleen Nott (1905–1999), poet, novelist, critic, philosopher and editor
• Hilda D. Oakeley (1867–1950), philosopher, educationalist and author; first Warden of the new Royal Victoria College; first woman to deliver McGill's annual university lecture
• Susan Moller Okin (1946–2004), New Zealand liberal feminist political philosopher and author
• Onora O'Neill, Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve (1941), philosopher; first female winner of the Berggruen Prize; crossbench member of the House of Lords; Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge
• Eva Picardi (1948–2017), Italian philosopher
• Sybil Wolfram (1931-1993), philosopher and writer of German Jewish origin, mother of Stephen Wolfram

Politicians

• Elsbeth Dimsdale (1871–1949), health campaigner and Liberal politician; first woman to receive a college fellowship at the University of Cambridge; founder of the Royal Papworth Hospital
• Dame Penelope Jessel (1920–1996), Liberal Party politician
• Eleanor Rathbone^[16] (1872–1946), independent MP; long-term campaigner for family allowance and for women's rights; member of the Rathbone family and Somerville's first MP
• Shirley Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby^[7][56] (1930-2021), politician and academic who represents the Liberal Democrats; one of the "Gang of Four" rebels who founded the Social Democratic Party (SDP)

International

• Margaret Ballinger (1894–1980), South African politician, first President of the Liberal Party of South Africa, "Queen of the Blacks"; held considerable power in the government of South Africa
• Kalpana Bista (1905-2001), first female Minister of Education, Science and Technology of Nepal
• Indira Gandhi^[7][92] (1917–1984), Prime Minister of India, named "Woman of the Millennium" in an online poll organised by the BBC
• Svava Jakobsdóttir (1930–2004), one of Iceland's foremost 20th-century authors and feminist politicians
• Diana Josephson (1936-2006), first woman to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and first female Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere under Bill Clinton
• Catherine Mulholland (1940),^[93] former member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
• Koila Nailatikau (1953), Fijian diplomat and politician; First Lady of Fiji from 2009 until 2015
• Adelaide Plumptre (1874–1948), Canadian activist, diplomat, and municipal politician in Toronto; first woman elected chair of the Canadian Red Cross, Toronto Board of Education; first woman to sit in the Toronto Board of Control
• Radhabai Subbarayan^[16][22] (1891–1960), first female member of the Indian Council of States (Rajya Sabha)
• Andrea Wechsler (1977), German professor and politician; elected member of the European Parliament in 2024

Psychology

• Nina Coltart (1927–1997), psychoanalyst, psychotherapist, and essayist; Vice President of the British Psychoanalytical Society
• Janet Dean Fodor (1942-2023), psycholinguist
• Suzanne Higgs, psychologist and editor-in-chief of the journal Appetite
• Mary Sturt (1896-1993), educational psychologist and historian of education
• Barbara Tizard^[94] (1926–2015), psychologist and academic, specialising in developmental psychology
• Anne Treisman (1935–2018), psychologist who specialised in cognitive psychology; developed the feature integration theory and attenuation theory; awarded the National Medal of Science, Grawemeyer Award and first woman to receive the Golden Brain Award

Radio and television

• Dame Elan Closs Stephens (1948), Chair of the BBC (2023–2024); Welsh educator and pro-chancellor of Aberystwyth University
• Margaret Jay, Baroness Jay of Paddington (1939), politician for the Labour Party; former BBC television producer and presenter
• Kara Miller, Jamaican creator of The Lifestylista; health & wellness expert; television host; writer & director working in film and television
• Sarah Mulvey (1974–2010), commissioning editor and television producer
• Nesta Pain (1905-1995), broadcaster and writer
• Dame Esther Rantzen (1940), journalist and television presenter, best known for presenting the hit BBC television series That's Life!; first woman to receive a Dimbleby Award from BAFTA
• Mary Somerville (1897–1963), first director of BBC School Radio
• Joanna Spicer (1906–1992), television executive employed by the BBC; involved with discussions that lead to Civilisation and Doctor Who; "ran BBC Television single handed"
• Anne Symonds (1917–2017), broadcaster for the BBC World Service; grandmother-in-law of Boris Johnson
• Xand van Tulleken^[95] (1978), TV presenter with his identical twin brother Chris van Tulleken
• Rebecca Wilcox (1980), television presenter, mainly for the BBC
• Kate Williams^[10] (1978), author, historian and television presenter
• Grace Wyndham Goldie (1900–1986), producer and executive in British television
• Fasi Zaka (1974), Pakistani political commentator, columnist, radio talk show host, and television anchor; declared a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum

Religion

• Constance Coltman (1889–1969), Britain's first woman to be an ordained minister
• Peggy Jackson (1951), current and first female Archdeacon of Llandaff
• Constance Langdon-Davies^[96] (1898 – 1954), one of the early Baháʼís in Britain
• Christina Le Moignan (1942), Methodist minister and academic, who served as President of the Methodist Conference
• Janet Soskice^[97] (1951), Canadian-born Catholic theologian and philosopher; her work has dealt with the role of women in Christianity

Royalty and nobility

• Jane, Lady Abdy^[98] (1934–2015), English socialite and art dealer, described as one of the most original and respected art dealers of her generation
• Dame Hester Adrian, Baroness Adrian (1899-1966), mental health worker; president of the Howard League for Penal Reform
• Lady Anne Brewis (1911–2002), botanist; daughter of Roundell Palmer, 3rd Earl of Selborne
• Lady Susan Chitty (1929-2021), novelist and a writer of biographies; wife of Sir Thomas Willes Chitty, 3rd Baronet
• Lady Norma Dalrymple-Champneys (1902–1997), scholar of English literature; winner of the Rose Mary Crawshay Prize; wife of Sir Weldon Dalrymple-Champneys, 2nd Baronet
• Amanda Harlech, Baroness Harlech (1959), fashion consultant; named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame
• Christine Longford, Countess of Longford (1900–1980), playwright; wife of Edward Pakenham, 6th Earl of Longford
• Margaret Mackworth, 2nd Viscountess Rhondda (1883–1958), Welsh peeress, businesswoman, significant suffragette, RMS Lusitania survivor, first female director of the Institute of Directors, founder of Time and Tide and the Six Point Group
• The Hon. Mary Anna Marten (1929–2010), aristocrat and landowner who made legal history in the Crichel Down affair; goddaughter of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother; High Sheriff of Dorset; archaeologist
• Lady Ottoline Morrell^[99] (1873–1938), aristocrat and society hostess; cousin of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother; her patronage was influential in artistic and intellectual circles; associated with the Bloomsbury Group; inspiration for several literary characters by Aldous Huxley, D. H. Lawrence, Graham Greene, Alan Bennett and Constance Malleson
• Princess Catherine Hilda Duleep Singh^[20] (1871–1942), suffragist; daughter of Maharaja Duleep Singh
• Queen Raja Zarith Sofiah^[7] (1959), Queen of Johor and member of the Perak Royal Family
• Princess Bamba Sutherland^[20] (1869–1957), daughter of Maharaja Duleep Singh, last surviving member of the family that had ruled the Sikh Empire
• Lady Juliet Townsend (1941–2014), writer, first female Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire
• Elizabeth Young, Lady Kennet (1923–2014), writer, researcher, poet, artist, campaigner, analyst and questioning commentator

Scientists

• Jane Kirkaldy (1869–1932), one of the first women to obtain first-class honours in the natural sciences; contributed greatly to the education of the generation of English women scientists
• Margaret Seward (1864–1939), first Oxford female student to be entered for the honour school of Mathematics; one of the first two female chemistry students at Oxford; earliest chemist on staff at the Royal Holloway (of which she was a founding lecturer); pioneer woman to obtain a first class in the honour school of Natural Science
• Premala Sivaprakasapillai Sivasegaram (1942), Sri Lankan engineer, regarded as the country's first female engineer; acknowledged as one of twelve female change-makers in Sri Lanka by the parliament

Biologists

• Dawn R. Bazely (1960), ecology and evolutionary biology professor
• Victoria Braithwaite (1967–2019), scientist who was the first person to demonstrate that fish feel pain; winner of the FSBI Medal
• Dame Kay Davies (1951), geneticist; Director of the MRC and Oxford Centre for Gene Function; governor of the Wellcome Trust
• Valerie Todd Davies (1920-2012), New Zealand arachnologist
• Marian Dawkins^[100] (1945), biologist; professor of ethology; wife of Richard Dawkins
• Marianne Fillenz (1924–2012), neuroscientist
• Lilian Jane Gould (1861–1936), biologist; one of the first women admitted to the Linnaean Society; one of the first European breeders of Siamese cats
• Shirley Hodgson (1945), geneticist
• Loeske Kruuk, evolutionary ecologist; winner of the Philip Leverhulme Prize
• Rosalind Maskell (1928–2016), microbiologist known for her work on urinary tract infections
• Dame Angela McLean (1961), professor of mathematical biology
• Jane Mellanby (1938-2021), neuroscientist and academic
• Christine Nicol, Professor of Animal Welfare at the Royal Veterinary College; winner of the Prince Laurent Foundation prize; her work has contributed to EU ban on conventional battery cages for laying hens in 2012
• Sohaila Rastan, geneticist
• Elsie Maud Wakefield^[101] (1886–1972), mycologist and plant pathologist

Botanists

• Lady Anne Brewis (1911–2002), botanist; daughter of Roundell Palmer, 3rd Earl of Selborne
• Adeline May Cowan (1892–1981), botanist who was active in India
• Emilia Frances Noel^[102] (c. 1868–1950), botanist, author and illustrator
• Molly Marples (1908-1998), New Zealand microbial ecologist/medical mycologist who spent most of her career at the University of Otago; noted as an early proponent of the theory that skin provides an ecosystem that supports a diversity of microorganisms
• Edith Philip Smith (1897–1976), Scottish botanist and teacher
• Pat Wolseley (1938), botanist specialised in lichen

Chemists

• Jean Baum, American chemist, distinguished professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Rutgers University
• Jenny Pickworth Glusker (1931), biochemist and crystallographer; winner of the Garvan–Olin Medal, John Scott Medal and William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement
• Rita Harradence (1915–2012), Australian biochemist who synthesised penicillamine; 1851 Exhibition Scholar
• Pauline Harrison^[103] (1926–2024), protein crystallographer
• Dame Julia Higgins (1942), polymer scientist, winner of the Holweck Medal and Legion of Honour, President of the British Science Association, Institution of Chemical Engineers and Institute of Physics
• Dorothy Hodgkin^[7][104] (1910–1994), Nobel Prize winner for her discovery of the structure of Vitamin B12 and development of protein crystallography; first, and only, British woman to win a Nobel Prize in science; first woman to receive maternity pay at Oxford University and first female Chancellor of the University of Bristol
• Judith Howard (1945), distinguished chemist and crystallographer
• Margaret Jope (1913–2004), Scottish biochemist
• Cecily Littleton (1926-2022), X-ray crystallographer and horticulturalist; great-granddaughter of Charles Darwin; developed the statistical analysis techniques to model crystal structures
• Barbara Low (1920–2019), biochemist and biophysicist involved in discovering the structure of penicillin and the characteristics of other antibiotics
• Mary Watson (1856–1933), one of the first two female chemistry students at Oxford

Mathematicians

• Kathryn Chaloner^[106] (1954–2014), statistician
• Anne Cobbe^[107] (1920–1971), mathematician
• Jane Kister (1944–2019), mathematical logician and executive editor of Mathematical Reviews
• Pamela Liebeck (1930–2012), mathematician and mathematics educator
• Hilary Ockendon (1941), applied mathematician and an expert on problems in fluid dynamics
• Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw (1912–2014), mathematician, politician, Lord Mayor of Manchester
• Robyn Owens, Australian applied mathematician and computer scientist known for her research in computer vision and face recognition
• Caroline Series^[108] (1951), mathematician; President of the London Mathematical Society; Whitehead Prize winner
• Mary Wynne Warner (1932–1998), mathematician, specializing in fuzzy mathematics

Physicists

• Joanna Haigh (1954), physicist and academic; President of the Royal Meteorological Society
• Jacqueline Mitton (1948), astronomer, writer, and media consultant; asteroid 4027 Mitton is named after her
• Alexandra Olaya-Castro (1976), Colombian theoretical physicist; winner of the Maxwell Prize
• Anne Tropper (1954),^[109] physicist
• Julia Yeomans (1954), theoretical physicist and academic

Social scientists

• Reem Bassiouney (1973), Egyptian author and professor of sociolinguistics; Sawiris Cultural Award winner
• Heather Grabbe (1970), Senior Fellow at the think-tank Bruegel in Brussels; director of the Open Society European Policy Institute
• Gwendolen M. Carter (1906–1991), Canadian-American political scientist; one of the founders of African Studies in the United States; first female president of the African Studies Association; among the most widely known scholars of African affairs in the twentieth century
• Ann Oakley (1944), sociologist, feminist, and writer; author of The Men's Room
• Nandini Sundar (1967), Indian professor of sociology; recipient of the Infosys Prize for Social Sciences

Anthropologists

• Brenda Beck (c. 1940), anthropologist and Tamil culture icon
• Beatrice Blackwood (1889–1975), anthropologist; ran the Pitt Rivers Museum
• Maria Czaplicka (1884–1921), Polish cultural anthropologist best known for her ethnography of Siberian shamanism; first woman to receive a Mianowski Scholarship and first female lecturer in anthropology at Oxford
• Rada Dyson-Hudson (1930-2016), American anthropologist
• Ruth Finnegan (1933), Northern Irish linguistic anthropologist; recipient of the Rivers Memorial Medal
• Barbara Freire-Marreco (1879–1967), anthropologist and folklorist; one of the first two women to gain a Diploma in Anthropology at Oxford
• Katherine Routledge (1866–1935), archaeologist and anthropologist who initiated the first true survey of Easter Island (leader of the Mana Expedition)
• Mai Yamani^[7] (1956), independent scholar, author and anthropologist; first Saudi Arabian woman to obtain a M.St. and a D.Phil. from Oxford

Economists

• Julia Aglionby (1969), economist, land agent, and politician
• C. Violet Butler (1884-1982), social researcher and educator
• Audrey Donnithorne (1922–2020), British-Chinese political economist and missionary, prominent in her efforts to rebuild the Catholic Church in China after the Cultural Revolution for which she was awarded the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice
• Rachel Glennerster (1965), Chief Economist at the Department for International Development
• Ursula Kathleen Hicks (1896–1985), Irish-born economist and academic
• Dame Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth (1914–1981), economist and writer interested in the problems of developing countries; winner of the Jawaharlal Nehru Award
• Mary Kaldor (1946), academic; current Professor of Global Governance at the LSE; daughter of Nicholas Kaldor
• Utsa Patnaik,^[110] Indian Marxist economist
• Frances Stewart (1940), professor emeritus of development economics; daughter of Nicholas Kaldor
• Doreen Warriner (1904–1972), development economist, known chiefly for her role in rescuing refugees just before World War II
• Alison Wolf, Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (1949), economist and professor at KCL

Sports

• Margaret Darvall (1909–1996), mountaineer; president of the Ladies' Alpine Club and the Pinnacle Club
• Rosamund Dashwood (1924–2007), one of the top female masters (i.e. over 35) runners in Canadian history
• Sheila Hill (1928-2022), cricketer, umpire, scorer and administrator; helped with the development of the Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers and was the first woman to be elected to its general council; one of the first ten women granted honorary MCC membership
• Sophie Le Marchand (1988), cricketer
• Jamie Powe (1995), cricketer
• Mary Russell Vick^[111] (1922–2012), field hockey player
• Smit Singh^[112] (1991), present National Record holder of India in skeet shooting
• Dorjana Širola (1972), Croatian quizzer, linguist and anglicist; highest placed woman at the World Quizzing Championship in seven years; winner of University Challenge for Somerville
• Claire Tomlinson (1944), highest-rated female polo player; first woman to win the County Cup and the Queen's Cup; first woman in the world to rise to five goals; first female player in The Varsity Polo Match; first female captain of the OUPC

Spies

• Jenifer Hart (1914–2005), academic and senior civil servant; accused of having been a spy for the Soviet Union
• Daphne Park, Baroness Park of Monmouth^[59] (1921–2010), spy, clandestine senior controller in MI6; Principal of Somerville College
• Phoebe Pool (1913–1971), art historian and spy for the Soviet Union

Translators

• Anthea Bell (1936–2018), translator of numerous literary works, especially children's literature, including Austerlitz and the French Asterix comics
• Catherine Glyn Davies (1926–2007), Welsh historian of philosophy and linguistics; translator
• Lucienne Hill (1923–2012), French-English translator and actor; winner of the Evening Standard Theatre Award and Tony Award
• Emily Lorimer (1881–1949), Anglo-Irish journalist, linguist, political analyst, and writer
• Janet Seymour-Smith (1930-1998), worked as a translator of Greek texts for Robert Graves and she became a life-long muse and collaborator with her husband Martin Seymour-Smith
• Helen Waddell (1889–1965), Irish poet, translator and playwright; winner of the Benson Medal
• Eithne Wilkins (1914-1975), New Zealand Germanic Studies scholar, translator and poet
• Beryl de Zoete^[86] (1879–1962), ballet dancer, orientalist, dance critic and dance researcher; also known as a translator of Italo Svevo and Alberto Moravia

Honorary fellows

Notable honorary fellows (excluding alumni) are Simon Russell Beale, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Nancy Rothwell, and Kiri Te Kanawa. Notable foundation fellows are Charles Powell, Baron Powell of Bayswater, and Wafic Saïd.