... FAMOUS THETAS  ...
 

Mary Ritter Beard
Mary Ritter Beard was a women's rights advocate and historian (The Rise of American Civilization, Women as a Force in History). She was a member of the Alpha chapter at DePauw. 

Jo Anne Gunderson Carner
Jo Anne Gunderson Carner is a two-time US Open winner. She was a member of the Delta Epsilon at Arizona State.

Laura Welch Bush
Laura Welch Bush is the wife President Bush. Mrs. Bush was a member of Beta Sigma chapter at SMU. She is a well-known advocate for children's literacy.

Lynne Cheney
Lynne Cheney is the wife of Vice-President Cheney. Mrs. Cheney was a member of Beta Omega chapter at Colorado College. She is a well-known advocate for literacy and education reform in the United States. Mrs. Cheney also served as a Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1986 to 1993.

Joan Ganz Cooney
Joan Ganz Cooney formed the Children's Television Network and produced Sesame Street. She was a member of Beta Delta chapter at the University of Arizona. Ms. Cooney was visionary in realizing that children's television programming could be both educational and entertaining. Sesame Street is one of the most popular television shows ever, having garnered fifty-eight Emmys. In addition to Sesame Street, Ms. Cooney produced Electric Company, 321 Contact, Square One TV, and Ghostwriter

Sheryl Crow 
Sheryl Crow is a recording artist who has won 6 Grammys with hits such as "All I Wanna Do," "Strong Enough," "Everyday Is A Winding Road," "My Favorite Mistake," and "If It Makes You Happy." She was a member of Alpha Mu chapter at the University of Missouri.

Diane Disney-Miller
Sharon Disney Brown
Diane and Sharon were Walt Disney's Daughters. "Let's Go Fly A Kite" from Mary Poppins was written for them.

Dian Fossey 
Dian Fossey was a zoologist whose studies of wild African gorillas helped dispel the myths about gorillas being violent and aggressive creatures. She was a member of Gamma Xi chapter at San Jose State College. Her research site, Karisoke, is now an international center for gorilla research. Fossey wrote a book, "Gorillas In The Mist," which recounted her years as a researcher. Due to Fossey's research and conservation work, mountain gorillas are protected by the government of Rwanda.

Tillie Fowler
Tillie Fowler is a United States Representative from Florida. Mrs. Fowler was a member of Delta Zeta chapter at Emory University.

Barbara Hackman Franklin
Barbara Hackman Franklin served as the 29th U.S. Secretary of Commerce and was one of the highest ranking women in the Bush Sr. administration. Mrs. Franklin was a member of Tau chapter at Northwestern University. She is now the president and CEO of Barbara Franklin Enterprises, a consulting and investment firm headquartered in Washington D.C.

Melinda French Gates 
Melinda French Gates was Microsoft's General Manager of Personal Productivity Products, and married CEO Bill Gates in 1994. Mrs. Gates was a member of Beta Rho chapter at Duke University. Mrs. Gates is now retired and taking care of their two children.

Amy Grant
Amy Grant is a recording artist who has sold over 17 million records and has four Top 5 Hits. She was a member of Alpha Eta chapter at Vanderbilt University.

Marjorie Child Husted
Marjorie Child Husted was the creator of Betty Crocker. She was a home economist and businesswoman under whose supervision the image of Betty Crocker became an icon for General Mills. The face that smiled on a dozen products was imaginary. Marjorie was her brains, her voice on radio, and wrote the ad copy and supervised the experimental kitchens.
She graduated from the University of Minnesota. 

Nancy Kassebaum
Nancy Kassebaum was a United States Senator representing Kansas. She was a member of Kappa chapter at the University of Kansas. At the time of Kassebaum's election in 1978, she was the only woman in the Senate. She is also the first woman to be elected to the senate in her own right. And in 1997, she became the first woman to head a major Senate committee when she became the chair of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee.

Cindy McCain
Cindy McCain is the wife of the Presidential candidate and United States Senator John McCain. She was a member of Omicron chapter at the University of Southern California. Mrs. McCain is an advocate for children's health care needs and founded the American Voluntary Medical Team which provides emergency medical care and surgery to destitute children throughout the world.

Rue McClanahan
Rue McClanahan is an actress whose most famous role is Blanche of the Golden Girls. She was a member of Gamma Tau chapter at Tulsa University. In addition to her acting career, Rue is very involved in animal rights and is an honorary chairperson of PETA.

Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret Olsson is an acclaimed actress who starred in such movies as State Fair, Bye-Bye Birdie, Viva Las Vegas (with Elvis Presley), and Grumpy Old Men. She was a member of Tau chapter at Northwestern University. Ann-Margret is currently headlining a tour of "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" which has received rave reviews. Ann-Margret has also won the "Female Star of the Year" award given by the United Motion Picture Association.

Julie Moran
Julie Moran is the weekend co-host of Entertainment Tonight. She was a member of Gamma Delta chapter at the University of Georgia. Prior to Entertainment Tonight, Moran was an anchor on NBC's Wide World of Sports. She was the first woman to host the show in its 35-year history.

Mary Kay Place
Mary Kay was a member of the Place Gamma Tau chapter at the University of Tulsa. She was a production assistant to Norman Lear and Tim Conway; a writer on "All In The Family", "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", and "M*A*S*H"; and an actor on "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman." Her role as Loretta on "Mary Hartman" landed her a Grammy nomination for her spin-off album "Tonite! At the Capri Lounge Loretta Haggers (1976)."  She also appeared in "The Big Chill" and "Being John Malkovitch." She continues to act, produce, and direct.

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings 
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was the author of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel "The Yearling." She was a member of Psi chapter at the University of Wisconsin. In addition to being an author, Rawlings was a civil rights advocate and friend of Indira Gandhi and Mary McLeod Bethune.

Melissa Stark
Melissa Stark is an NFL sideline commentator for ABC, where she joins the broadcast team of Al Michaels and John Madden.
In addition to her work on "Monday Night Football", Stark has also reported on ABC Sports figure skating and golf coverage including her role as reporter for ABC's primetime "Battle at Bighorn." While attending the University of Virginia, Stark worked two summers for the "CBS Evening News" in New York on the medical news unit. She was a member of the Delta Chi chapter at the University of Virginia. A Phi Beta Kappa student, she graduated in 1995 with a double major in foreign affairs and Spanish. 

Kerri Strug 
Kerri Strug was a member of the 1996 Women's Olympic Gymnastic team which won the Women's Olympic Gold Medal for the first time. She was a member of Beta Xi chapter at UCLA. She was the youngest person on the U.S. team at the 1992 Olympics.

Marlo Thomas
Marlo Thomas is an actor and children's advocate. She is best known as Anne Marie in "That Girl", a hit television series. Her father was actor Danny Thomas, founder of St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis, TN. She was a member of the Omicron chapter at the University of Southern California.

Jenna Von Oy
Jenna Von Oy is an actress who played Six on the television comedy "Blossom". She was a member of Omicron chapter at the University of Southern California. Currently, Jenna is playing Stevie on "The Parkers," a comedy set in Southern California.


Last updated Jun-07