Famous College Roommates

Find out which celebrities, actors, authors and politicians roomed together in college.

They say college isn’t just about what happens in the classroom. And nowhere else can you find proof than when you look at famous college roommates.

Before they hit the big time, these politicians, actors, authors and other notables somehow found each other while rooming together in college (thank you housing lottery!).

Just because these roommates were destined for fame doesn’t mean they didn’t have problems living with each other. Mark Zuckerberg and fellow facebooker Saverin eventually had a falling out over business.

Famous College Roommates

  • Former vice president Al Gore and actor Tommy Lee Jones – Harvard University.
  • Luis A. Ubiñas, president of the Ford Foundation and Conan O’Brien, television host/comedian – Harvard, class of ’85.
  • Director Wes Anderson and actor Owen Wilson – The University of Texas at Austin.
  • Actors Ving Rhames and Stanley Tucci: SUNY – Purchase. Tucci is reported responsible for shortening Rhames’s name from Irving to the much cooler sounding “Ving.”
  • Authors Dan Brown (The DaVinci Code) and Harlan Coben (bestselling crime writer) – Amherst College.
  • Comedian Robin Williams and actor Christopher Reeve (of Superman fame) – The Juilliard School
  • ER actress Sherry Stringfield and indie actress Parker Posey – SUNY – Purchase. Only Stringfield graduated, while Posey dropped out for a role on As the World Turns.
  • Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg roomed with fellow FBers Chris Hughes, Dustin Moskovitz and Eduardo Saverin at Harvard. Saverin and Zuckerberg eventually had a falling out as documented in the film The Social Network.
  • NFL players Reggie Wayne and Ed Reed – University of Miami.
  • NFL coach Tony Dungy and NBA coach Flip Saunders – University of Minnesota.
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