Ever wonder whether you share an alma mater with any famous people? Believe it or not, a bunch of celebs spent their high school years in San Antonio.
Whether you’re looking to shore up bragging rights or are just curious to see what stars are repping the 2-1-0, we’ve got you covered. From actors to sports hall of famers, these 28 notable grads all did their schooling in the Alamo City.
Shea Serrano, Southwest High School
New York Times best-selling author, journalist and former teacher Shea Serrano proudly reps San Antonio – more specifically the South Side. Widely known for his addictive Twitter personality, Serrano graduated from Southwest HS. In 2021, he completed his bestselling book trilogy (And Other Things) with Hip Hop (And Other Things), and his TV series Primo, which is based on his upbringing in SA, debuted on Amazon Freevee in May 2023. Credit: Larami SerranoAustin Mahone, Jefferson High School
Austin Mahone may have only gone to Jefferson High School for one year, but we think that’s enough to claim him. The pop star got his start covering songs on YouTube, and now has a slew of releases under his belt. He was born in SA in 1996 and after his one year stint at Jefferson he finished high school in homeschool. He’s gone all in on his Texas roots with his newest album, A Lone Star Story, released in June 2023. Credit: Shutterstock / Kathy HutchinsJared Padalecki, Madison High School
Jared Padalecki’s breakout role may have been playing Dean Forester on Gilmore Girls, but he’ll likely always be remembered for his 15-season run as Sam Winchester on Supernatural. Now, Padalecki stars as the famed Texas Ranger formerly played by Chuck Norris in the TV series reboot Walker. The actor was born in the Alamo City in 1982 and graduated from Madison HS and now calls Austin home. Credit: The CW / WalkerRobert Rodriguez
Robert Rodriguez has been repping SA since being born here in 1968. The director, who went to St. Anthony High School, is known for everything from Machete to Spy Kids, and recently directed episodes of the hit Disney+ Star Wars series The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. Credit: Shutterstock / TinseltownShawn Michaels, Randolph High School
Though he was born in Arizona, WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels’ ties to SA make him the prodigal son of the Alamo City. No, not really, but we do rep him since he attended Randolph HS on base. He would later be trained by local, acclaimed boxing legend José Lothario. The legendary wrestler is now an executive with WWE that oversees creative for the company’s NXT brand, as well as developing talent. Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Super FestivalsAnthony Alabi, Antonian College Preparatory High School
Born in San Antonio in 1981, Anthony Alabi went on to attend Antonian College Preparatory High School before moving on to play college football at Texas Christian University. First snagged by the Miami Dolphins in the 2005 NFL draft, Alabi played professional football untill 2009, when he retired to pursue acting. Alabi played Coach Spitz on Disney’s Raven’s Home and starred opposite Tia Mowry-Hardict in Netflix’s Family Reunion, and recently played Zach Hammond in the 2023 remake of the video game Dead Space. Credit: Netflix / Family ReunionAda Vox, South San Antonio High School
Drag queen Ada Vox made a splash on American Idol in 2018, reaching the top 10 in that year’s competition. Vox was born Adam Sanders in San Antonio in 1993, and went to South San Antonio High School. In December 2021, she joined 14 fellow drag queens on the new Paramount+ series Queen of the Universe, singing live to compete for a $250,000 prize, and placed second. Credit: Photo courtesy of Paramount+ / Queen of the UniverseNicholas Gonzalez, Central Catholic High School
Nicholas Gonzalez didn’t originally plan to be an actor, but we’re glad he became one. He was born in San Antonio in 1976 and went to Central Catholic HS before going to Stanford to study English. While he was there, a professor who saw him in a one-man theater performance convinced him to pursue acting, and the rest is history. In addition to appearances on Pretty Little Liars, How To Get Away With Murder and Being Mary Jane, the TV star played Dr. Neil Melendez on ABC’s The Good Doctor. Now, you can see him on NBC’s La Brea as U.S. Air Force Pilot Capt. Levi Delgado. Credit: NBC / La BreaHenry Thomas, East Central High School
Most often recognized for his breakout role as Elliott in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, San Antonio native Henry Thomas has become a horror fixture of late with roles in Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor and Midnight Mass. The actor was born in SA in 1971 and went to East Central HS. Credit: Netflix / Eike SchroterJames Roday Rodriguez, Taft High School
Psych star James Roday Rodriguez was born in San Antonio in 1976 and went to Taft HS before making his name playing a fake psychic detective on the long-running USA comedy series for eight seasons and three movies. Recently, he also played Gary Mendez on ABC’s A Million Little Things. Credit: Peacock / Psych 3: This Is GusFamed basketball player Shaquille O’Neal went to high school in the Alamo City. Credit: Shutterstock / lev radinRick Riordan, Alamo Heights High School
You may know Rick Riordan for his Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series, but did you know the author’s a tried and true San Antonian? Born and raised in the Alamo City, Riordan went to Alamo Heights High School before heading to college at North Texas State University (now UNT). He transferred to UT Austin to study English and History, then came back to San Antonio and nabbed a teaching certification at UTSA. Credit: Wikimedia Commons / RhododendritesSendhil Ramamurthy, Keystone School
Before he made a splash in shows like Covert Affairs and Heroes, Sendhil Ramamurthy gew up in the 2-1-0 and graduated from Keystone School. In addition to recent roles on TV series The Flash and New Amsterdam, Ramamurthy now plays “hot dad” Mohan Vishwakumar on Mindy Kaling’s Netflix series Never Have I Ever. Credit: Netflix / Lara SolankiChrystabell, Alamo Heights High School
Songstress and longtime David Lynch collaborator Chrystabell has roots right here in the Alamo CIty — she was born in San Antonio and went to Alamo Heights High School. Though her work with the enigmatic filmmaker originally began in the music sphere, she made her screen debut as FBI Agent Tammy Preston in the hotly anticipated 2017 return of Lynch’s iconic TV series Twin Peaks. In early 2022, she released her latest album, Midnight Star, on Love Conquered Records. Credit: Mathieu BittonPendleton Ward, LEE High School
You may not recognize his face, but you’d definitely recognize his drawings — Pendleton Ward is the brains behind hit Cartoon Network series Adventure Time, which ran on the channel from 2010-2018. The animator and voice actor was born in San Antonio in 1982 and graduated from now-LEE High School before moving to California to attend CalArts. In addition to Adventure Time, Ward has worked on various animated series including The Midnight Gospel and Bravest Warriors. Credit:Photo via Twitter / buenothebearRicardo Chavira, LEE High School
Though he’s starred in hit TV series from Desperate Housewives to Scandal, Ricardo Chavira arguably landed his greatest role yet in 2019: playing Tejana queen Selena’s father Abraham Quintanilla Jr. in Netflix’s series about the pop star. Chavira was born in SA in 1971 and graduated from LEE High School — then named Robert E. Lee — and later attended the University of the Incarnate Word. Credit: Netflix / Selena: The SeriesBruce McGill, MacArthur High School
Even if you’re not a Bruce McGill stan, you probably recognize him, because he’s made appearances on tons of TV shows since he started acting in the late ’70s. McGill was born in San Antonio in 1950 and went to MacArthur HS before going to the University of Texas at Austin for college, and has been in everything from Animal House to USA’s Rizzoli and Isles in his decades-spanning career. He recently played Mayor Grover Teale in Amazon’s Reacher and Judge Tom Ryan in the miniseries Love and Death. Credit: Amazon / ReacherJesse Borrego, Harlandale High School
Nobody reps the 2-1-0 like Jesse Borrego. Born in San Antonio in 1962, the Harlandale HS graduate still lives here today. While he may be best known for his roles in Fame and Blood In Blood Out, Borrego’s had his share of roles on hit TV series — from Dexter to Fear the Walking Dead — and was recently seen on the third season of Starz series Vida. Credit: Aspiration Entertainment / Phoenix, OregonJonathan Joss, McCollum High School
You can’t get much more San Antonio than the late Jonathan Joss, who was born born in the Alamo City in 1965 as Jonathan Gonzales. Of Spanish, Comanche and White Mountain Apache descent, Joss attended McCollum High School and attended Texas State before leaving the university and finishing his studies at Our Lady of the Lake. The actor, who died in a tragic shooting earlier this year, played John Redcorn on King of the Hill and Chief Ken Hotate on Parks and Recreation, and he lent his voice to the video games Days Gone and Wasteland 3. Credit: Netflix / Parks and RecreationChris Perez, Jefferson High School
Known best as Selena’s husband, musician Chris Perez was born in San Antonio in 1969 and went to Jefferson HS. Though he’s still active as a musician, Perez has expanded into the food scene, with two pepper sauces he released in collaboration with Cajohn’s Fiery Foods. Credit:Photo via Instagram / chrispereznowPatricia Vonne, St. Anthony High School
Sister to Robert Rodriguez, Patricia Vonne is a powerhouse in her own right. The singer and actress, who’s appeared in some of her brother’s films, was born in San Antonio in 1969 and went to St. Anthony High School. She lived in NYC for a while but later returned to the Lone Star State and settled in Austin. She joined forces with fellow Latina singer-songwriters Tish Hinojosa and Stephanie Urbina Jones to form the Texicana Mamas. In 2021, she dropped the Christmas album My Favorite Holiday. Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Frank SchwichtenbergPeter Weller, Alamo Heights High School
RoboCop went to school in San Antonio?! Yes, it’s true. Actor Peter Weller, a Wisconsin native, landed in SA thanks to his dad’s military career and actually graduated from Alamo Heights HS. More recently, the actor has had roles on A&E’s Longmire, CBS’s MacGyver reboot and the Paramount+ series Rabbit Hole. Credit: CBS / MacGyverJessica Collins, Tom C. Clark High SchoolA graduate of Tom C. Clark High School, Jessica Collins is known for her roles in the Oscar-winning film Zero Dark Thirty, the AMC television series Rubicon and NBC’s Revolution. She also played Emma Beesly on Netflix’s 2021 miniseries Clickbait and Amber Chesborough in the Apple TV+ series Echo 3. Credit: Netflix / ClickbaitAdam Martinez a.k.a. AdamRayOkay, Southwest High School
Adam Martinez may not have an IMDb page, but he’s undeniably famous. The San Antonio native leapt to viral fame when his puro comedy character Rosa in early 2020, and is now a cross-platform social media juggernaut. Martinez now has a Cosmo photoshoot and a makeup collab with BH Cosmetics under his belt, and in March 2022 announced a live tour. Credit:Photo via Instagram / adamrayokaySam Sanders, Samuel Clemens High School
Ok, we know Samuel Clemens High School is technically in Schertz, but we’re still counting it. San Antonio native Sam Sanders went to Clemens High before double majoring in music and political science at UIW. After getting his master’s in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, he joined NPR, where he served as a correspondent and key member of the elections unit and was one of the original co-hosts of NPR’s Politics Podcast. He hosted NPR’s It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders, a twice weekly show that alternates between “deep dive” interviews and news roundups, from 2017-2022. He left NPR to join New York Magazine to develop and host the flagship culture podcast Vibe Check for Vulture. Credit:Photo via Instagram / samsandersJohn Quiñones, Brackenridge High School
TV personality Juan Manuel “John” Quiñones was born in the Alamo City in 1952, and attended Brackenridge HS before heading to St. Mary’s University for college, with the help of the Upward Bound program. Now, he’s known for hosting ABC’s What Would You Do? and as a correspondent on Good Morning America and 20/20. Credit: ABC / What Would You Do?Christopher Cross, Alamo Heights High School
Born in San Antonio in 1951, singer songwriter Christopher Cross is best known for ’80s yacht rock hits like “Sailing,” “Ride Like the Wind” and “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do).” A graduate of Alamo Heights High School, Cross later made Austin his home. Unfortunately, in 2020 Cross revealed that he not only contracted COVID-19, but developed Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which causes paralysis and can require a year or more for even a partial recovery. The singer has been open about the condition and chronicled his path to recovery on social media. Credit:Photo via Instagram / itsmrcrosssMarcia Nasatir, Jefferson High School
Born in San Antonio in 1926, Marcia Nasatir was a pioneer for women in Hollywood – particularly women working as producers. In 1974, Nasatir became the first female vice president of a major Hollywood studio (United Artists). She grew up in SA too — she opened up about attending Jefferson HS and going to movies at the Majestic and Aztec as a kid. Nasatir passed away in 2021 at the age of 95. Credit: Courtesy Photo / Marcia Nasatir
