Top 10 Highly Educated Hollywood Stars
Not all Hollywood stars are school dropouts. You will find several highly educated Hollywood Stars. However, there is a concept that most of the stars working in Hollywood have a bad education record. They just bought bus tickets and headed to L.A., where they started a tough life with a heart full of ambitions. Some of the famous names have an excellent academic history. These favorite stars decided to stay at college or university to complete their education before doing great work in the movie industry. Before playing the role of lawyers, scientists, and doctors, some were scientists and doctors. Here is the list of famous actors who have made their way into the industry after completing high studies.
Mindy Kaling | Highly Educated Hollywood Stars
Mindy Kaling (Vera Mindy Chokalingam) is the first on this list. Her father was an architect, and the parent decided to send the daughter to a private school. After school education, Mindy attended Dartmouth College, where she did acapella singing and improved her comedy by drawing cartoons and writing comic stories for the college magazine. After having her initial career training in college, she graduated in 2001 with a degree. She shifted to New York and started a job as a production assistant while doing stand-up comedy and getting some roles in theatres.
Mindy Kaling got her first huge success in the show Matt & Ben. She played “Ben Affleck” in this show, which was a surprise hit for her. After that, she joined the American version of “The Office” as a writer-performer. She got the position of executive producer after the 9 series of this show. She is a leading example of South Asian women working in Hollywood.
Bradley Cooper | Highly Educated Hollywood Stars
Despite his role in the movie “The Hangover” it is true that Bradley Cooper has a serious nature. He is a Georgetown University graduate who earned a degree in English in 1999. At a young age, he was a passionate countryman who wanted to join the army to become a ninja. However, he decided to act after a few failed attempts to join the military. He started his career with a small job in Sex and City, where he got industry recognition. Bradley Cooper moved to New York with a bag full of clothes, completing his master’s from Pace University in 2000.
He did some roles in T.V. series such as Wet Hot American Summer, The Street, Jack and Bobby, and Carnival Knowledge. These jobs were not what Bradley Cooper was expecting in Hollywood. Finally, he secured a position in the hit movie Wedding Crashers in 2005. The success of Wedding Crashers was important for Cooper’s career because he got several other contracts in some action movies such as American Sniper, American Hustle, and Silver Linings Playbook. Nowadays, he is among the highest-paid actors in the world. It seems that Copper’s decision not to become a Ninja in the military was right.
David Duchovny | Highly Educated Hollywood Stars
Before having a role in the popular X-Files series, David was trying to solve the English papers at Princeton University. He graduated from the university in 1982 having a B.A in English and received a master’s Degree in English Literature from Yale University. He was a fantastic poet and writer. The Academy of American Poets nominated his work for awards. While doing his B.A in English, David also did some courses in acting and got a few roles in Off-Broadway plays.
Like everyone in Hollywood, he started his acting career from the root level while trying to have his dream job. He did several commercials in the 80s and finally got his name for the films. He appeared in some movies, such as Bad Influence and New Year’s Day. These parts were undoubtedly small, but his acting impressed the directors and producers. In 1991, he was offered the significant role of DEA agent “Dennis Bryson” in the hit series Twin Peaks. He remained part of the show until the show ended in 3 seasons.
In 1993, David got his most prominent job in the X-Files series as an FBI agent. David was a big success as he entered the row of successful actors of the 90s. The show ended with great success as millions of people watched it. David also got the leading role in Californification. In this show, he acted as a tortured womanizer trying to balance his professional and sex life.
Sigourney Weaver | Highly Educated Hollywood Stars
She is a Stanford University graduate. She did her bachelor’s in Literature in 1971 and recognized her dreams of acting and writing there. Sigourney also attended Yale University, where she got her master’s Degree in acting and started a career in the industry.
Sigourney Weaver got several roles in Off-Broadway plays in New York. Her breakthrough was Annie Hall, in which she played a small role, but her acting impressed everyone. After two years of a long break in 1979, she appeared in the blockbuster movie Alien as Lieutenant Ellen Ripley. It was a big hit, and she became a permanent part of all the sequels of Alien. In 1980, she was nominated for two academy awards and two Golden Globe awards for her marvelous work in “Working Girls and Gorillas In The Mist.” After that, she also appeared in some top Hollywood movies such as Avatar, Ghostbusters, and The Village.
Unlike many Hollywood celebrities, Sigourney has had a trouble-facing period in this industry. She was undoubtedly the daughter of famous NBC president Sylvester Weaver and English actress Elizabeth Inglis. She tried hard to continue with the family culture. Her childhood was not easy despite the wealth she had. She was bullied at school for her tall stature. She was taller than the girls of her age. It was continued at Yale University, where professors tried to keep her limited to lesser roles due to her height. However, she bravely faced all the criticism and refused to go down.
Lupita Nyong’o | Highly Educated Hollywood Stars
She graduated in Film and African Studies at Hampshire College in 2007. She started her career as a producer at the college as a production assistant and got several internship roles in different movies. Lupita submitted her thesis titled “My Genes” which was highlighted at the New York African Film Festival. Later, she moved to Yale University, where she finalized her master’s Degree in Fine Arts in Drama.
Lupita is a Mexican-born actress having Kenyan parents. Her life in Mexico was a result of political exile. Her father was a member of Kenyan politics who tried to establish an underground party in Kenya against the tyrannical authority of the Kenyan president. Despite political exile in Mexico, her family decided to return to Kenya, where they lived in so many safe houses in different parts of the country, hiding from the authoritarian Government. Lupita and her family spent their entire life moving from one place to another. This was a life of fear and trouble.
This period taught Lupita how to be a diehard struggler in actual life. She became ready to face challenging roles allowing her to pursue a career in Hollywood as an Oscar-winning actress after her role in “12 Years A Slave.” Lupita is the 1st African American actress to win this award. She has been part of several famous Hollywood productions such as Black Panther, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and more.
Meryl Streep | Highly Educated Hollywood Stars
Meryl Streep is one of the highly influential and successful figures in Hollywood. She is among the highly educated persons working in the Hollywood industry. She collected several diplomas before getting multiple Oscar Awards. Meryl has a splendid academic and professional career starting at Yale University.
Her teachers at Yale University were so impressed by her natural acting skills. This praise would only continue as she found her name among the top actresses of the time. She won an Oscar Award for her performance in Deer Hunter. She also got the Academy Award for her significant acting in Sophie’s Chloe and Kramer vs. Kramer. Up to now, Meryl has received 31 nominations for Golden Globe and 22 nominations for the academy award. This is a record for any actor or actress in Hollywood.
Rowan Atkinson | Highly Educated Hollywood Stars
He is everyone’s favorite “Mr. Bean.” He is famous as a loveable idiot, but his academic background will surprise you. This guy is not an idiot. He is, by profession, an electrical engineer who attended Oxford University. During his academic period, Rowan used to draw sketches. He appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for the first time.
It led him to get a role in the famous British series “Not Your Nine O’Clock News.” The surprising fact about this show was that Rowan wrote and acted in it. After this performance, he was named British Personality of the Year and got a British Academy Award. Later on, he signed multiple agreements for Mr. Bean and Johnny English, bringing him to new heights. Another surprising fact about Rowan Atkinson is his bad stutter. He successfully managed to hide this disability while acting in the movies.
Ken Jeong | Highly Educated Hollywood Stars
Starting his career as a child star, Ken was impressed by the comedy stars such as Bill Cosby and Jim Carrey. Like every famous actor, Ken Jeong dreamed of a big position in Hollywood. His parents were unhappy with his dreams of stardom and forced him to study medicine to have a stable career. In 1990, Ken completed his Pre-medical Studies with a bachelor’s Degree at Duke University. He also advanced his medical studies at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1995.
In the meantime, Ken never gave up and continued acting as a comedy actor at school, college, and even university levels. He won the “Big Easy Laff-off” while studying internal medicine in New Orleans. He got this award from the late NBC President Mr. Brandon Tartikoff in a comedy competition. The Comedy Club Founder Mr. Budd Friedman also encouraged him to continue acting in comedy serials.
Shortly after winning this competition award, he moved to Los Angeles, where he started working as a physician while doing small roles in theatres and stand-up shows. Ken was a physician by day and a hilarious comedian by night. His first hit was “BET COMIC VIEW. After having a role offer in “Knocked Up, Ken was forced to select one career, and he decided to say goodbye to medicines. The Hangover franchise selected him as a potential actor for almost all the comedy sequels. Ken’s wife is also a physician and helped Ken achieve his acting dreams.
Since then, he has appeared in several megahits such as Boston Legal, Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm. He is a regular member of the NBC show Community. The moral of his story is never to be afraid of any dreams.
Hill Harper | Highly Educated Hollywood Stars
Hill is famous for his role as Dr. Stephen in CSI: N.Y. However, very few people know that Hill holds three Ivy League Degrees. He attended Brown University in 1988 to get a bachelor’s Degree. After that, he went to Harvard University, where he got Juris Doctor Degree. He also joined the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Harper was a permanent and active member of “Boston’s Black Folks Theatre Company when he was at Harvard Hills, where he befriended Barack Obama, who became president of the United States of America. He also contributed to Obama’s election campaign during the general elections.
After getting three degrees, he picked another challenging job. He moved to (L.A.) Los Angeles, where he started to get some prominent roles in the movies. In 1993, he got his first role in “Married with Children” of Fox Series. After a few years, he got another job in Get On The Bus directed by Spike Lee. He also wrote several books, such as Putting Money in its Place, Manifest Your Destiny and Wealth Cure, and Letter To A Younger Brother.
Mayim Bialik | Highly Educated Hollywood Stars
Mayim got her name after the famous CBS Sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” in which she played the influential role of Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler (a neurobiologist). Most people don’t know that Mayim is a real Neurobiologist in her professional life. She has a PhD in Neurobiology from UCLA. She started her acting career before finishing her Degree. Mayim got her first job in Pumpkin Head. She is also a child star who worked in several T.V. shows, especially Blossom.
In 1993, she broke from her acting career because of academic progress. She was accepted in PhD programs at Harvard and Yale University but attended UCLA to earn a PhD in neurobiology. Mayim Bialik also has a bachelor’s Degree in Hebrew Studies. She has a big name in the comedy world of Hollywood. She is a big example for women who have a highly professional scientific degree. Mayim included her name in the list of Highly Educated Hollywood Stars
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