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21 celebrities who have degrees in their back pockets
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21 celebrities who have degrees in their back pockets

Celebrities like Emma Watson grew up in the spotlight, landing one of the core roles in the Harry Potter series at 11 years old, so she naturally went on to earn her degree once she got a bit older. And while some other famous faces have done the same — gotten their education before the bright lights of Hollywood called their name — a great deal went to university before that. The following is a mixed bag of both scenarios as we look at a cascade of celebrities with college degrees.

 
1 of 21

Hugh Jackman

Hugh Jackman
Stefanos Kyriazis/LiveMedia/LiveMedia/Sipa USA

Before he was the face of Wolverine, Hugh Jackman spent a year as a PE teacher (I bet no one skipped gym then), but after that, he went back to school and graduated with a BA in communications.

 
2 of 21

Lupita Nyong’o

Lupita Nyong’o
Billy Bennight/AdMedia/Sipa USA

College was probably always the game plan for Lupita Nyong’o as her father was a professor, but a degree in theater and film probably meant she always had her eyes set on acting.

 
3 of 21

Jonah Hauer-King

Jonah Hauer-King
DPPA/Sipa USA

The Little Mermaid star studied at university while acting back in the day when he attended St. John’s College, where he eventually earned a degree in theology.

 
4 of 21

Reba McEntire

Reba McEntire
Anthony Behar/Sipa USA

If there is a multiverse, then somewhere on another timeline, Reba McEntire utilized her degree in education and became an elementary school teacher.

 
5 of 21

Dolph Lundgren

Dolph Lundgren
Billy Bennight/AdMedia/Sipa USA

Back in the 1970s, Swedish-born action star Dolph Lundgren came to the States with academic scholarships in hand to study chemical engineering. He later returned to Stockholm to finish school and get his degree in it.

 
Sigourney Weaver
Ron Sachs / Pool/Sipa USA

Sigourney's acting bug bit her early as she was involved with theater at Stanford, but while there, she also got her BA in English.

 
7 of 21

Cole Sprouse

Cole Sprouse
Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Sipa USA

After living the Suite Life alongside his twin brother, Cole Sprouse (along with the aforementioned brother) went to New York University, where he studied archaeology.

 
8 of 21

Issa Rae

Issa Rae
Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Sipa USA

A handful of years before she would start a YouTube channel that would eventually lead to an HBO series, Issa Rae was studying African and African-American Studies at Stanford.

 
9 of 21

Rowan Atkinson

Rowan Atkinson
Doug Peters/PA Images/Alamy Images/Sipa USA

Two things people don’t often know about Mr. Bean are that he was the voice of Zazu in The Lion King and that he has an MS in electrical engineering.

 
10 of 21

Mayim Bialik

Mayim Bialik
Sthanlee B. Mirador/Sipa USA

After starring in the hit ‘90s series Blossom, Mayim Bialik stepped away from Hollywood and, during that time, not only started a family but found herself at UCLA, where she got a Doctor of Philosophy degree in neuroscience. That came in quite handy when she landed on the science-centric series, The Big Bang Theory as what else? A neuroscientist.

 
11 of 21

John Legend

John Legend
Anthony Behar/Sipa USA

Not only is John Legend part of the elite club of EGOT winners, but he’s also a well-educated man who graduated magna cūm laude with a BA in English.

 
12 of 21

Rebel Wilson

Rebel Wilson
JM HAEDRICH/SIPA/Sipa USA

Rebel Wilson left college with two BAs to her name. One was in Theater and Performance Studies, which makes sense given she’s a beloved actress today. The other one? Believe it or not, law.

 
13 of 21

Riz Ahmed

Riz Ahmed
Sthanlee B. Mirador/Sipa USA

Sound of Metal’s Riz Ahmed earned a degree from Oxford University in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics but then studied acting at another school.

 
14 of 21

Danai Gurira

Danai Gurira
Sthanlee B. Mirador/Sipa USA

Before she was kicking butt in the likes of The Walking Dead and Black Panther, Danai Gurira was doing the same at school. She has a BA in psychology and an MFA in acting from NYU.

 
15 of 21

"Weird Al" Yankovic

"Weird Al" Yankovic
Anthony Behar/Sipa USA

Weird Al has made a career after constructing parody songs, but that’s not too wild when one considers he has a BA in architecture.

 
16 of 21

Rashida Jones

Rashida Jones
Anthony Behar/Sipa USA

Rashida Jones went the Ivy League route by attending Harvard and getting a degree in religion and philosophy.

 
17 of 21

Spike Lee

Spike Lee
Anthony Behar/Sipa USA

Spike Lee has a MFA in film and television. That’s not that shocking, given that he’s been behind the camera of some of the most beloved and celebrated films in history.

 
18 of 21

Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman
Ron Adar / SOPA Images/Sipa USA

Natalie Portman was already part of the Star Wars universe when she headed off to Harvard, where she’d go on to graduate with a BA in psychology before wrapping up the prequel trilogy.

 
19 of 21

Will Ferrell

Will Ferrell
Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Sipa USA

Ironically enough, the star of Anchorman got a degree in sports information but didn’t see himself as a broadcaster.

 
20 of 21

Kerry Washington

Kerry Washington
Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Sipa USA

Kerry Washington only had a couple of acting gigs on her resume when she graduated from George Washington University in 1998 with a BA in anthropology and sociology.


 
21 of 21

Ken Jeong

Ken Jeong
Sthanlee B. Mirador/Sipa USA

Ken Jeong was a practicing physician before he became an actor, meaning, yup, he had an MD with his name on it.

Kendra Beltran went to college with no game plan and found herself falling back on her love of writing soon after graduating all the way back in 2009. Since then, she's written for MTV Geek, Cosplay Central, Collider, Apartment Therapy, and many other sites that allowed her to showcase her love of all things pop culture. When she isn't writing, Kendra is either hosting her show, Crushgasm, baking all the cookies, or spoiling her fur baby, Mason.

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