Arts and Entertainment
- Diana Athill OBE (1936 English), writer and literary editor
- Victoria Blake (1982 History), crime writer
- Sarah Bradford (1956 History), biographer
- Caryl Churchill (1957 English), playwright
- Jennifer Pike (2009 Music), violinist
- Lindsey Davis (1968 English), crime writer
- Philip Hensher FRSL (1983 English), novelist and journalist
- Nigella Lawson (1979 Modern Languages), chef and writer
- Josie Long (2000 English), comedian
- Fiona MacCarthy OBE (1958 English), biographer and cultural historian
- Julian Nott (1980 PPE), film composer (Wallace and Gromit)
- Michelle Paver (1979 Biochemistry), novelist and children’s writer
- Diana Quick (1964 English), actress and writer
- Conrad Shawcross RA (1996 Fine Art), sculptor
- Nicola Usborne (1989 English), film producer
- Samuel West (1985 English), actor and director
Journalism and Media
- James Allen (1985 English and Modern Languages), Formula One broadcaster, journalist and writer
- Danny Cohen (1992 English), Director of BBC Television
- Mary Dejevsky (1970 Modern Languages), broadcaster and lead writer for The Independent
- Martin Giles (1985 PPE), US Technology Correspondent, The Economist
- Tim Hetherington (1989 Classics and English), photojournalist
- Kate Kellaway (1976 English), journalist and writer for The Observer
- Lucy Kellaway (1978 PPE), novelist and management columnist for the FT
- Bridget Kendall MBE (1974 Modern Languages), former BBC diplomatic correspondent, and Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge
- Sam Kiley (1984 PPE), Foreign Affairs Editor, Sky News
- Dame Ann Leslie DBE (1959 English), journalist and writer for the Daily Mail
- Cathy Newman (1992 English), broadcast journalist, Channel 4 News
- Frances Stead Sellers (1979 Modern Languages), Senior Writer Washington Post
Government and Public Service
- Harriett Baldwin MP (1978 Modern Languages), former minister of state, and Conservative MP for the West Worcestershire constituency
- Gertrude Bell (1886 History), political intelligence officer, explorer, writer and archaeologist
- Benazir Bhutto (1975 PPE), former Prime Minister of Pakistan
- Juliet Campbell CMG (1954 PPE), former HM Ambassador and Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge
- Baroness D'Souza (1973 Anthropology), former Lord Speaker
- Baroness Finn (1987 History), Downing Street Deputy Chief of Staff
- The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP (1985 English), Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office as well as Conservative MP for the Surrey Heath Constituency
- Tessa Green CBE (1983 PPE), former Chairman of Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
- Sir George Hollingbery KCMG (1982 Human Sciences), former minister of state, former Conservative MP for the Meon Valley constituency, and HM Ambassador to Cuba (Designate)
- Philip Hollobone MP (1984 History & Economics), Conservative MP for the Kettering constituency
- Dame Judith Macgregor DCMG (1971 History), former HM Ambassador and British High Commissioner
- Baroness Manningham-Buller DCB (1967 English), former Director General MI5
- Baroness Neville-Jones DCMG (1958 History), former BBC Governor and Chairman of the British Joint Intelligence Committee
- Baroness Parminter (1983 Theology), Liberal Democrat life peer in the House of Lords
- Maggy Pigott CBE (1969 Law), formerly Executive Director, Judicial Studies Board, Ministry of Justice
- The Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP (1993 Law), First Secretary of State, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs as well as Conservative MP for Esher and Walton
- Barbara Roche (1972 PPE), former Labour MP and Minister of State
- Dame Mary Smieton DBE (1922 PPE), Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, the second woman to achieve the rank of Permanent Secretary
- Phyllis Starkey (1966 Biochemistry), former Labour MP
- Baron (Matthew) Taylor (1982 PPE), former Liberal Democrat MP and Chair of the Liberal Democrats
- Baroness Warnock DBE FBA (1942 Classics), philosopher, writer and former Mistress of Girton College
- Helen Whately MP (1995 PPE), Minister of State for Social Care, Conservative MP for the Faversham and Mid-Kent constituency
- The Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe (1969 PPE), former Conservative MP and Minister of State, novelist, and broadcaster
Finance and Industry
- Richard Buxton (1982 English), Head of UK Equities, Old Mutual Global Investors
- Stephen Hester (1979 PPE), Chief Executive Officer of RSA Insurance Group and former Chief Executive Officer of the RBS Group
- Baroness Hogg (1964 PPE), Chairman of the Financial Reporting Council, former Chairman of 3i plc
- Dr Joanna Kennedy OBE FREng FICE (1969 Engineering), civil engineer and director of the ERA Foundation, and former Director of Ove Arup and Partners
- Guy Monson (1981 PPE), Chief Investment Officer and Senior Partner of Sarasin & Partners LLP
- Neil Simpkins (1984 Physics), Senior Managing Director Blackstone Group (New York)
Law
- Judith Freedman CBE FBA (1972 Jurisprudence), Pinsent Masons Professor of Tax Law and Policy at Oxford
- Diana Guy (1962 Law), Deputy Chairman of Competition Commission
- The Hon Mrs Justice Jefford DBE (Nerys Jefford, 1981 Jurisprudence), High Court Judge
- The Hon Mrs Justice Lang DBE (Beverley Lang, 1974 Jurisprudence), High Court Judge
- Justice Goodwin Liu (1991 Psychology, Philosophy and Physiology), Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court
- The Hon Mrs Justice Manohar (Sujata Manohar, 1954 PPE), former Supreme Court Justice, India
- Dame Barbara Mills DBE (1959 Law), first woman Director of Public Prosecutions
- The Hon Mrs Justice Proudman DBE (Sonia Proudman, 1968 Law), High Court Judge
- The Hon Mrs Justice Slade DBE (Elizabeth Slade, 1968 Law), High Court Judge
- Dame Juliet Wheldon DCB (1968 History), first woman to be appointed Treasury Solicitor
Humanities scholarship
- Margaret Aston CBE FBA (1951 History), medieval and early modern historian
- Marjorie Chibnall OBE FBA (1933 History), medieval historian
- Kathleen Coleman FBA (1976), James Loeb Professor of the Classics at Harvard University
- Marianne Elliott OBE FBA (1971 History), modern historian
- Amanda Foreman (1991 History), biographer and historian
- Dame Antonia Fraser DBE (1950 History), biographer and historian
- Carol Harrison FBA (1979 Theology), Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at Oxford
- Mary Jacobus CBE FBA (1962 English), literary scholar
- Evelyn Jamison (1898 History), medieval historian
- Dame Frances Lannon DBE (1969 History), modern historian and former Principal of LMH
- Mary Lascelles FBA (1919 English), literary scholar
- Susan Mendus CBE FBA (1973 BPhil), political philosopher
- Griselda Pollock (1967 History), feminist art historian, Holberg Prize Laureate
- Susan Reynolds FBA (1947 History), medieval historian
- Susan Treggiari (1958 Lit. Hum.), classicist, Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor Emerita of Stanford University
- Dame Marina Warner DBE (1964 Modern Languages), novelist, short story writer, historian, mythographer and academic
- Dame Veronica Wedgwood OM, DBE (1928 History), biographer and historian, and the third female member of the Order of Merit
Science and Medicine
- Dame Josephine Barnes DBE (1930 Physiology), first woman President of British Medical Association
- Margaret Buckingham Médaille d'or du CNRS 2013, ForMemRS, Officier de l'Ordre National du Mérite, Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (1964 Biochemistry), developmental biologist
- Maria Fitzgerald FRS (1972 Physiology), Professor of Developmental Neurobiology, UCL
- Neil Ferguson OBE (1987 Physics), epidemiologist
- Margaret Jenning, Lady Florey (1924 PPE), bacteriologist, part of the team that developed Penicillin
- Nancy Lane OBE (1960 Biology), Fellow and President, Institute of Biology and President, Society of Biologists
- Dame Anne McLaren FRS (1945 Zoology), leading scientist in mammalian reproductive and developmental biology and genetics
- Dame Rosemary Murray DBE (1932 Natural Sciences, Chemistry), first President of New Hall [now Murray Edwards College] Cambridge, and first female Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University
- Kathleen Tanner OBE (1976 Engineering), Bonfield Professor of Biomedical Materials at Queen Mary University of London
- Dame Margaret Turner-Warwick DBE (1943 Physiology), first woman President of the Royal College of Physicians
- Veronica Van Heyningen CBE FRS (1970 Biochemistry), geneticis
Philanthropy
- Dame Vivien Duffield DBE (1963 Modern Languages), Chairman of the Clore Duffield Foundation
- Barbara Harrell-Bond OBE (1965 Social Anthropology), founder of the Refugee Studies Centre at Oxford
- Eglantyne Jebb (1895 History), founder of Save the Children
- Margaret Keswick Jencks (1959 English), founder of Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres
- Joyce Pearce OBE (1934 History), founder of the Ockenden Venture, now Ockenden International
- Winifred Tumim, Lady Tumim CBE (1955 PPE), chairperson of the Royal National Institute for the Deaf, chairperson of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations
- Malala Yousafzai (2017 PPE), Nobel Laureate and human rights activist