Where Your Favorite Celebrities Went to College
Yes, they're just like us.
Sometimes we forget that celebrities are just like us. At one point in their life, they likely went to college, where they studied and often earned degrees in a variety of subjects—yes, besides acting. Ahead, we take a look back at celebs and their alma maters. They too pulled all-nighters, drank too much alcohol, and griped about their meal plans.
Lady Gaga
New York University
Before she became Lady Gaga, 17-year-old Stefani Germanotta was accepted to the Collaborative Arts Project 21, a music school at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and lived in an NYU dorm. She withdrew during the second semester of her sophomore year to focus on her music career.
Kenny Chesney
East Tennessee State University
Although Kenny Chesney graduated with an advertising degree, he spent his free time at the university in the ETSU Bluegrass Band, where he started writing songs and continued working on his music. He played at bars and fraternity parties, recording his first demo album in Bristol, Virginia, in 1989.
Reese Witherspoon
Stanford University
After landing her first major role at the age of 15 in The Man in the Moon, Witherspoon enrolled at Stanford University as an English Literature major. The actress did not complete her degree, as her acting career became too demanding, but her love of books would translate to later success with her production company.
Jessica Chastain
The Julliard School
Chastain graduated from The Julliard School, where she was training in theater, in 2003. The actress was able to attend the performing arts university due to a full scholarship from Robin Williams, who himself graduated from there in 1976.
Jennifer Garner
Denison University
When Garner first arrived at Ohio's Denison University in 1990, she was enrolled as a chemistry major. The actress later changed her focus to theater, worked during the summer months for various acting companies, and graduated with her B.A. in theater in 1994. Recently, Garner delivered the commencement address at her alma mater.
Ken Jeong
Duke University
The former doctor studied pre-med at Duke University before obtaining his medical degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The physician-turned-comedian told students during a speech at the University of Miami that "everybody has a right to pursue what they want. Whatever reality gives you, you make the most of it and make it your own."
Kate Beckinsale
Oxford University
Beckinsale landed her first major film roles while studying French and Russian literature as a student at Oxford University. According to a former classmate, journalist Victoria Coren, the actress was "whip-clever, slightly nuts, and very charming," during her time at University. Beckinsale dropped out before her final year as her acting career was picking up, though the actress has recently voiced her desire to finish her degree.
Téa Leoni
Sarah Lawrence College
Leoni attended the liberal arts college in Bronxville, New York, but did not complete her studies. Instead, the actress moved to St. Croix in the Caribbean and later decided to pursue a career in acting. In 1989, she landed a major role in the television show Santa Barbara and a few years later appeared in A League of Their Own.
Topher Grace
University of Southern California
After attending boarding school in New Hampshire, where he was actively involved in theater, Grace attended the University of Southern California. However, the actor didn't complete his degree. In 1998, when he was 20, Topher dropped out of USC to play Eric Foreman on That '70s Show.
Amy Poehler
Boston College
Poehler graduated from Boston College with a Bachelor's degree in media and communications. She was a member of the college's improvisational comedy troupe called "My Mother's Fleabag."
At the 2014 Golden Globes, Poehler made a joke about her time at Boston College when she linked it to a nominee of the award she was giving. "Masters of Sex is the degree I got from Boston College," she said, high-fiving Tina Fey.
John Legend
University of Pennsylvania
After succeeding in many areas in high school (he was student body president and prom king), Legend was offered admission to Harvard University and given scholarships to Georgetown University and Morehouse College. However, he decided to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied English with an emphasis on African American literature. At college, Legend served as president and musical director of a co-ed jazz and pop a cappella group called "Counterparts."
Kristen Bell
New York University
Bell studied musical theater at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and made her Broadway debut while still a student in a musical version of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Bell, who is an advocate on the importance of openness and acceptance when suffering from depression, first started feeling unlike herself while in college.
"I was at New York University, I was paying my bills on time, I had friends and ambition—but for some reason, there was something intangible dragging me down," Bell said. "Luckily, thanks to my mom, I knew that help was out there—and to seek it without shame."
Giuliana Rancic
University of Maryland
Rancic received a Bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a Master's degree in journalism from American University. During this time, she worked for a Capitol Hill news bureau covering stories related to the U.S. government.
Mindy Kaling
Dartmouth College
At Dartmouth College, Kaling majored in theatre. She created her own comic strip, "Badly Drawn Girl," and performed with the Dog Day Players, an improv group. She also took a semester off to intern for Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
In an interview with New York Magazine, Kaling said, "At Dartmouth College, I was freakin' Jaws in a community swimming pool. I wrote plays, I acted, I sang, I was the student newspaper cartoonist."
She followed with advice for students who were not particularly a "star" at their high school.
"I recommend going to college in the middle of nowhere. I got all the attention I could ever have wanted. If I had gone to NYU, right now I'd be the funniest paralegal in a law firm in Boston."
Lil Wayne
University of Houston
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., a.k.a. Lil Wayne, attended the University of Houston where he majored in political science. In a 2005 interview with MTV, Lil Wayne talks about his decision to go to college.
"I'm not going back to school," clarified Wayne, who's been making music professionally since he was nine years old and recently acquired his GED. "I'm really going to school for the first time."
Anne Hathaway
Vassar College & NYU
Hathaway spent several semesters studying as an English major and women's studies minor at Vassar College before transferring to New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study. She has referred to her college enrollment as one of her best decisions because she enjoyed being with others who were trying to "grow up."
Brooke Shields
Princeton University
Shields attended Princeton University to pursue her Bachelor's degree in French literature. She was a member of the Princeton Triangle Club and the Cap and Gown Club. Her autobiography, On Your Own, was published in 1985, three years before she graduated.
In recent years, Shields has opened up about losing her virginity to her college sweetheart, the future TV Superman Dean Cain.
Emma Watson
Brown University
Watson received her Bachelor's degree in English literature from Brown University. Unlike some celebrities who became famous post-college, Watson had been famous (very famous) for years. In an interview with NY Daily News, a source stated that sometimes Watson's classmates "would respond [to her answer] with a quote from 'Harry Potter.'" The most popular choice was "Three points for Gryffindor."
"I was in denial," Watson said in an E! News interview. "I wanted to pretend I wasn't as famous as I was. I was trying to seek out normality, but I kind of have to accept who I am, the position I'm in and what happened."
Denzel Washington
Fordham University
Washington earned a B.A. in drama and journalism from Fordham University. During his time there, he played basketball as a guard under coach P.J. Carlesimo.
In 2011, Washington gave $2 million to Fordham University to endow the Denzel Washington Chair in Theatre, and also a gift of $250,000 that established the Denzel Washington Endowed Scholarship, which is dedicated to an undergraduate student studying theatre.
Matthew McConaughey
University of Texas at Austin
McConaughey graduated from UT Austin with a Bachelor's degree in radio-television-film. He still regularly visits campus to attend the Longhorn's football games. This summer, the University of Texas at Austin announced that McConaughey will be returning to his alma mater to assist in teaching a filmmaking class.
Kourtney Kardashian
Southern Methodist University & University of Arizona
After two years at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Kardashian transferred to the University of Arizona, Tucson, where she completed her Bachelor's degree in theatre arts and a minor in Spanish. Kardashian told US Weekly that while at college she was stung by a scorpion and failed two classes because she was "too nervous to give speeches."
Elizabeth Banks
University of Pennsylvania
Banks graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a major in communications and a minor in theater arts. While there, she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority. She then continued her schooling at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, where she earned her MFA.
Eva Longoria
Texas A&M University
Longoria received her Bachelor of Science in kinesiology at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. She later earned a Masters in Chicano Studies from California State University, Northridge. She presented her thesis on "Success STEMS From Diversity: The Value of Latinas in STEM Careers."
Rashida Jones
Harvard University
Jones majored in religion and philosophy at Harvard University. She admits that she didn't rebel until college: "I kind of lost my mind for a couple years and went to a lot of raves." Jones addressed the graduating class of 2016 at Harvard's Senior Class Day ceremony that year.
Meryl Streep
Vassar College
Although Streep was involved in several of her high school's plays, she was uninterested in serious theatre until acting in the play Miss Julie while at Vassar College. She also received an Honorary Doctor of Arts degree at Dartmouth College, and her Master of Fine Arts from the Yale School of Drama.
James Franco
University of California, Los Angeles
Franco is arguably the most educated actor. He enrolled at UCLA as an English major, but dropped out after his first year to pursue a career in acting. He later reenrolled with a creative writing concentration. He even received permission to take as many as 62 course credits per quarter compared to the normal limit of 19, while still continuing to act.
He then moved to New York to simultaneously attend graduate school at Columbia University's MFA writing program, New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for filmmaking, and Brooklyn College for fiction writing.
Ashley Judd
University of Kentucky
At the University of Kentucky, Judd completed a major in French, and minors in Anthropology, Art History, Theater, and Women's Studies. She was also part of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.
Later she graduated from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government with an M.P.A. At Harvard, she was awarded the Dean's Scholar Award for her work in the Harvard Law class, Gender Violence: Law and Social Justice.
Jodie Foster
Yale University
Foster majored in literature at Yale. She wrote her thesis on Toni Morrison and graduated magna cum laude.
"I chose Yale basically for writing and literature," she said. "Of course, you can't be sure—you get your first D and could decide to be a chemistry major."
She returned to Yale in 1993 to address the graduating class, and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the university in 1997.
Will Ferrell
University of Southern California
Ferrell studied sports broadcasting at the University of Southern California. While there, he joined the Delta Tau Delta fraternity and was known for a his pranks—like occasionally dressing in a janitor's outfit and walking into his friends' classes. He was also known for streaking around campus with other Delta Tau Delta friends.
Brad Pitt
University of Missouri
Pitt majored in journalism with a focus in advertising at the University of Missouri. He also joined the Sigma Chi fraternity during his time there. With only two weeks left before earning his degree, Pitt left the university and moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.
Conan O'Brien
Harvard University
At Harvard, O' Brien concentrated in history and literature and graduated magna cum laude. During college, he was the drummer in a band called "The Bad Clams," and wrote for the Harvard Lampoon humor magazine. He served as the magazine's president his sophomore and junior years.
O' Brien has also admitted to stealing the outfit worn by Robin in the '60s TV show Batman when it was displayed on campus.
Lisa Kudrow
Vassar College
Kudrow earned her B.S. in Biology from Vassar College. She intended to follow in her father's footsteps and research headaches. While trying to break into acting, she worked on her father's staff for eight years, earning a research credit on his study about the comparative likelihood of left-handed individuals developing cluster headaches. In 2010, Kudrow delivered the school's commencement address.
Natalie Portman
Harvard University
In an interview with the New York Post in 1999, Portman said, "I don't care if [college] ruins my career. I'd rather be smart than a movie star." She later graduated from Harvard. In 2015, she addressed the graduating class at Harvard's Senior Class Day ceremony.
