20 Famous Ryerson Alumni That Will Make You Proud To Be A RAM

What better way to get inspired than to see how successful our alumni have become. From TV hosts and female wrestling champions to the upcoming Aladdin, here are 20 awesome Ryerson Alumni that make us super proud!

SHAY MITCHELL

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Majored in: Acting

Twitter: @shaymitch

Known best for her role as Emily Fields in the teen drama Pretty Little Liars, Shay Mitchell has become an incredibly successful actress, model, entrepreneur and author. In her farewell video to Pretty Little Liars, Shay describes her time in Toronto and the vision board she had for her future on her apartment wall. She currently continues to act and uploads regularly on her YouTube channel.

NINA DOBREV

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Majored in: Sociology

Twitter: @ninadobrev

Nina Dobrev got her start in acting on Degrassi - back when Drake also starred on the show. She is best known for her playing doppelgänger vampires Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce on The CW’s teen drama The Vampire Diaries, and since the show has finished she’s had continued success in several upcoming movies.

GAIL KIM

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Majored in: Nutrition

Twitter: @gailkimITSME

After studying at Ryerson, Gail Kim went on to prove what a major badass she is by becoming a professional wrestler, model and actress. She is a founding member of the Knockouts division, first ever and record-tying six time Knockouts Champion and the first female ever inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame. She is best known for her tenure with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where she won the WWE Women's Championship in her first match. She is regarded as one of the greatest female wrestlers of all time.

FRANCIS D’SOUZA

Via toronto.citynews.ca

Majored in: RTA

Twitter: @cityfrancis

A Gemini award winning journalist for best breaking reportage, Francis D’Souza has done Ryerson proud during his career. Francis has been a recognizable face at City for more than a decade. He began as the Weekend Anchor in 2002 and is now in the dual role of Citynews Anchor and Senior Manager - Editorial. He has covered major stories worldwide, travelling to Rome during the Pope Francis’ election and London during “the great Kate wait” - the birth of the Royal baby.

ERIC MCCORMACK

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Majored in: Acting

Twitter: @EricMcCormack

Emmy award winner Eric McCormack has taken the acting world by storm since his time at Ryerson. Since leaving Ryerson to accept a position with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Eric has starred in countless movies and TV shows. Of course, we’ll always know him best as the beloved Will Turner on the newly revived Will & Grace, where he continues to thrive.

NIA VARDALOS

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Majored in: Acting

Twitter: @NiaVardalos

Nia Vardalos is an actress, screenwriter, director, and producer, best known for My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which Vardalos had previously written for the theater and starred in onstage. The success of the movie, which was also filmed at Ryerson, earned Nia an Oscar nomination. It’s also considered to be the highest-grossing romantic comedy of all time.

ELLEN WONG

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Majored in: RTA

Twitter: @ellenwongster

After studying Radio and Television Arts at Ryerson, Ellen Wong got her big break in the acting world with her role as Knives Chau in the 2010 film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. She also starred as Jill "Mouse" Chen in The CW's prequel Sex and the City series The Carrie Diaries, and Jenny Chey in the Netflix series GLOW which was renewed for a second season.

HANNAH SIMONE

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Majored in: RTA

Twitter: @HannahSimone

Hannah Simone is a British-born Canadian television host, actress, and former fashion model. After studying at Ryerson, became host of HGTV Canada's television show Space for Living for its first season and worked as a VJ for MuchMusic in Canada for 2 years. She is best known for portraying Cece Parikh on the popular Fox sitcom New Girl.

CHARLOTTE ARNOLD

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Majored in: Broadcast Journalism

Twitter: @charlottegraya

Charlotte Arnold grew up in Toronto and after attending Ryerson, went on to act in some of our favourite throwback shows such as Naturally Sadie and Degrassi: The Next Generation. She’s won a Young Artist award and a Gemini award, and most recently starred in the Canadian comedy-drama series Private Eyes.

TYLER STEWART

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Majored in: RTA

Twitter: @baldy67

Since graduating from Ryerson, Tyler Stewart has been the drummer for The Barenaked Ladies. He also worked as a co-host for The 31st Annual Juno Awards, starred in the documentary Barenaked in America and the movie The Limo Show.

LIANE BALABAN

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Majored in: Journalism

Twitter: @LianeBalaban

Liane Balaban broke into the acting world after her time at Ryerson. actress. She has starred in films such as New Waterford Girl, Definitely, Maybe, Last Chance Harvey, and the independent drama One Week. She has starred on several television series including NCIS: Los Angeles, Covert Affairs, Alphas, Supernatural, Saving Hope and Played.

SABRINA JALEES

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Majored in: RTA

Twitter: @SabrinaJalees

A comedian, dancer, actor, host and writer from Toronto, Ontario, Sabrina Jalees is now based in New York City. After she was shunned by her extended Muslim family after coming out, she took the story national by relating it in her 2013 Canadian comedy tour, Brownlisted. She writes a weekly column in the Toronto Star's ID section and runs her own website sabrinajalees.com. She has worked as a commentator on MuchMusic's Video on Trial, Stars On Trial and LOL!, and starred in the drama series Flashpoint. She most recently worked as a story editor on the TV series Powerless.

NATALIE GLEBOVA

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Majored in: Information Technology Management and Marketing

Twitter: @NatGlebova

Natalie Glebova is a TV host, author, dancer, model, and beauty queen who won Miss Universe Canada 2005 and later that year won Miss Universe 2005 in Thailand. She has also worked as a motivational speaker for grade school and high school students.

LIZA FROMER

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Majored in: RTA

Twitter: @LizaFromer

Liza Fromer has become a successful broadcast journalist since her time at Ryerson. She has previously worked as a video columnist for TV Guide, and eventually launched her TV career on YTV as a co-host for Video & Arcade Top 10 and Clips. She is known best for waking us up each morning, formerly working as a co-host on Breakfast Television and The Morning Show.

RAMRIDDLZ

Via rehabonlinemag.com

Majored in: Graphics Communications

Twitter: @ramriddlz

When explaining how he got to the name ‘Ramriddlz’, Ramy explains ‘My name is Ramy and I write riddles.’ During his third year at Ryerson in 2015, Ramriddlz’s song ‘Sweeterman’ was covered by Drake after the Canadian sensation discovered the young artist on Twitter. He continues to make music and recently released his latest album ‘Sweeter Dreams.’

TONYA LEE WILLIAMS

Jesse Grant / WireImage / Via fevatv.com

Majored in: Acting

An actress, producer, director and activist, Tonya Lee Williams had her television debut as a host of the Canadian children's show Polka Dot Door after studying at Ryerson. Since then, she has had several television roles and is best known for her role as Dr. Olivia Barber Winters on The Young and the Restless. She is also the founder of Reelworld Film Festival, an annual film festival in Toronto that features talent from ethnically diverse communities.

LAUREN RIIHIMAKI

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Majored in: Graphics Communications

Twitter: @LaurDIY_PH

Since her time at Ryerson, Lauren Riihimaki has become an incredibly successful Do-It-Yourself specialist on YouTube, with over 1 million subscribers. She posts fashion advice videos to her popular channel LaurDIY, alongside her blog by the same name. In September 2017 she released the song "DIY QUEEN."

ZARQA NAWAZ

Via zarqanawaz.com

Majored in: Journalism

Twitter: @ZarqaNawaz

A freelance writer, journalist, broadcaster, and filmmaker, Zarqa Nawaz has had truly impressive continued success since her time at Ryerson. Zarqa Nawaz is also a recognised author, known for her book ‘Little Mosque on the Prairie’ and has most recently published ‘Laughing All The Way To The Mosque’. She was an associate producer of several CBC Radio programs, and her radio documentary The Changing Rituals of Death won multiple awards at the Ontario Telefest Awards. Eventually she became a filmmaker, using comedy to explore the relationships between Muslims and their neighbours in contemporary North America, and even launched her own production company, FUNdamentalist Films which she describes as “putting the 'fun' back into fundamentalism.”

KRISTIN BOOTH

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Majored in: Theatre

Twitter: @kristintbooth

Kristin Booth is a versatile performer experienced in film, television and theatre. Her first starring role in a movie came with the 2003 heist film Foolproof opposite Ryan Reynolds. She has starred in several movies since, including This Beautiful City and Young People Fucking for which she won a Genie award for Best Supporting Actress. She has most recently starred in TV series The Kennedys: After Camelot and 12 Monkeys.

MENA MASSOUD

Via teenplicity.com

Majored in: Theatre

Twitter: @MenaMassoud

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few months, you'll know that Ryerson's very own Mena Massoud will be starring as Aladdin in the highly anticipated live version of the Disney classic. We can't wait to see where Mena's career goes from there, but we can guess it's going to be epic.