From Fame to Academia: Unexpected Diplomas of the Stars
Many celebrities jump into the entertainment industry right after high school, but there are many routes to fame. Our favorite actors, singers, and TV stars have incredible stories. Some of them decided to pursue higher education, and they’ve already made a name for themselves. They made a statement in proving there is no right way to succeed.
Some performers hold degrees aligning with their talents and careers. Like English, performing arts, and theater, but the surprise comes from the ones who earned totally unexpected degrees. From engineering to psychology, let’s see who they are:
1. Natalie Portman
You wouldn’t believe that such a talented actress is academically brilliant too. The star from Black Swan graduated from Harvard College in 2003. With a bachelor’s degree in psychology, she balanced her studies and added numerous acting credits to her resume before and during her time at Harvard.
2. Tom Hiddleston
Before becoming Marvel’s Loki, Tom Hiddleston was quite an academic guy. He graduated from Pembroke College at Cambridge, and he has a double first-class degree in classics. Later, he shifted toward acting and attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Anthony Hopkins and Cynthia Erivo are also legendary actors from this university.
3. Rowan Atkinson
Best known for his iconic Mr. Bean role, or the awkward salesman in Love Actually, Rowan Atkinson was very close to choosing a very different career path.
He earned a degree in electrical engineering at Newcastle University and later continued with a master’s in the same field at Oxford. Here he met Richard Curtis; the rest is history.
4. Gabrielle Union
Her role in 10 Things I Hate About You is followed by a whole different era in Gabrielle’s life. She started at this university in Nebraska and attended Cuesta College, ultimately transferring to UCLA. Her bachelor’s degree is in sociology.
5. Will Ferrell
This comedy legend graduated from Southern California University in 1990. He has a degree in sports information and a program he very amusingly described as so difficult and so arduous that he discontinued in eight years after he left. During a 2017 commencement speech, at the same time, he got an honorary doctorate.
6. Bridgit Mendler
She played Teddy Duncan on Disney Channel’s Good Luck Charlie from 2010 to 2014, but she has an impressive academic background. In 2016, she earned a degree in anthropology from The University of Southern Carolina, and she continued with a master’s in media arts and sciences in 2020 at MIT. Her greatest achievement is the one that everybody talked about: the J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2024.
7. Carrie Underwood
Known for her hits such as “Cowboy Casanova” and “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” she holds an impressive academic record. Carrie Underwood graduated from Northeastern State University magna cum laude. Oklahoma is her home state, and after a brief casual detour where she won American Don, she earned her mass communications B.A., focusing on journalism the following year.
8. Dakota Fanning
I am Sam and War of the Worlds are her breakout films, but more than being an actor. Dakota Fanning is highly educated. She graduated from the University of New York and has a degree in women’s studies. She balanced her academic pursuits with her acting career, a thing that proved she’s dedicated to her education as much as she is to her craft.
9. Eva Longoria
Famous for her roles in Desperate Housewives and Only Murders in the Building, she has an unexpected passion: education. Eva Longoria has a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology, graduating from Texas A&M University-Kingsville. She later pursued a master’s in Chicano studies at California State University, Northridge. She completed this program in 2013. Unexpected, right?
10. Rebel Wilson
Before the Pitch Perfect era, Australian actress Rebel Wilson got two degrees from the University of New South Wales. She graduated in 2000 with a bachelor of arts in theater and performance studies, a field that fitted her career. The surprising achievement is her law degree she got after a Bachelor of Laws.
11. Cole Sprouse
Riverdale star Cole Sprouse has a surprising degree. He graduated from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study in 2015 with a degree in archaeology. Cole Sprouse studied Geographical Information Systems and Satellite Imaging (GIS). Impressive!
12. Rooney Mara
She started at George Washington University and transferred to NYU after realizing it wasn’t the right fit. She graduated in 2010 and created her own major within the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at NYU, and she focused on psychology, nonprofits, and international social policy.
13. Kerry Washington
Kerry Washington who plays the iconic Olivia Pope in Scandal, studied at George Washington University. Graduating in 1998, she has a double major in anthropology and sociology. She returned to her alma mater to give a speech and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree.
14. Ken Jeong
This actor is highly educated. He graduated from Duke University in 1990 and was a pre-med at his dream school. Before taking his medical degree from North Carolina University, Jeong worked as a general practitioner, but as we know, he shifted to comedy, a passion he started to explore during his time as an undergrad.
15. Reba McEntire
Country legend Reba McEntire has a surprising choice in her elementary education. As a native of McAlester, Oklahoma, she graduated from Southeastern Oklahoma State University in 1976. She always had a passion for performing, as she explained, but her mother pushed her to an educational path to be able to get ahead in life.
16. Christy Turlington
In 1995, supermodel Christy Turlington removed her runway shoes to focus on her academic pursuits. More than a bachelor of arts in comparative religion and Eastern philosophy, she also followed a master’s at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
17. Gemma Chan
She had a totally different life before becoming a star in Crazy Rich Asians. Gemma Chan attended Oxford University’s Worcester College, graduating in 2001 with a law degree. She also worked at a law firm, but then she transitioned to acting. Chan shared that her legal background was a real help in script memorization and, bonus, reviewing her own contracts.
18. Mayim Bialik
It’s probably not so surprising for Big Bang Theory fans, but Mayim Bialik has such an impressive and unexpected academic background. In 2000, she got a bachelor’s in neuroscience and Hebrew and Jewish studies from UCLA. When she completed her PhD in neuroscience at UCLA in 2007, she became a double Bruin.
19. Ben McKenzie
Becoming the heartthrob of The OC happened only after Ben McKenzie attended the University of Virginia from 1997 to 2001, where he earned a degree in economics and foreign relations. He is a third-generation UVA graduate, following his father and grandfather. McKenzie later put his degree to work by being a co-author for Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud, a book published in 2023.
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