46 Celebrities Who Returned to School After Making It in Hollywood

Glen Powell

It is a story with a twist! After enrolling within the radio-television-film program on the College of Texas at Austin in 2007, actor Glen Powell put his schooling on maintain upon finishing his freshman yr. The Austin, Texas, native moved to Los Angeles to deal with his movie profession (although he is since moved again to be nearer to his mother and father).

In 2024, Powell told IndieWire he was taking an unconventional path to his research as a result of his taking pictures schedule requiring him to be abroad.

“I am not going to be sitting in a category with different college students on the common,” the Twisters star mentioned. “So, they’re letting me determine it out [with] distance studying. And I’m obviously going to be coming in, Zooming in for courses and whatnot, however I’ve to be again for the proctored exams.”

Tamera Mowry-Housley and Tia Mowry

Tamera Mowry-Housley and Tia Mowry had been simply 15 once they landed the beloved ’90s sitcom Sister, Sister in 1994.

After rising up within the highlight, the dual siblings finally set their sights on a brand new chapter: faculty. They enrolled at Pepperdine College, juggling the calls for of successful TV sequence with the challenges of scholar life.

“Tia and I had been part-time at Pepperdine College. We’d go to class, do a rehearsal or shoot, after which come again to class,” Tamera told host Lewis Howes on a 2021 episode of The School of Greatness podcast. “We’d do two courses each different day after which the present on Thursday and Friday.”

Tamera added, “I’m pleased I did; it taught me about prioritizing and that schooling is essential. It taught me dedication and onerous work, too. In case you put your thoughts to it, you are able to do it. It took me seven years to graduate.”

The previous Twitches stars pulled it off, incomes a bachelor’s diploma in psychology. Tamera has credited her time in faculty with serving to her prioritize the significance of schooling. She additionally met her husband, Adam Housley, whereas a scholar on the non-public faculty.

Noah Schnapp

Noah Schnapp and his bowl haircut achieved worldwide fame at 11 when Netflix’s Stranger Things grew to become a worldwide hit for the streaming sequence. As Will Byers, audiences watched with rapt consideration because the younger lad was kidnapped into the Upside Down, falling sufferer to the Thoughts Flayer.

Because the sequence marched alongside, Schnapp grew up in entrance of followers whereas balancing his profession and schooling. In 2021, he recorded himself in a TikTok video (via X) opening an acceptance letter from the College of Pennsylvania — the place he later enrolled within the prestigious Wharton Faculty of Enterprise.

Embracing the total expertise, the actor opted to stay within the dorms, as documented on TikTok.

“I wished the actual expertise,” he told Teen Vogue in 2022. “I at all times knew from a younger age I used to be going to complete highschool, [and] I used to be going to go to varsity. It was by no means actually a query for me, and turning into an actor did not actually change that. So I dedicated to it, and I am so pleased to this point.”

Jack Gleeson

Throughout Jack Gleeson‘s star-turning position on Game of Thrones as King Joffrey Baratheon — a personality usually thought-about one of the most hated on the small display screen — he studied philosophy and theology at Trinity Faculty Dublin in Eire between 2010 and 2015.

Uncomfortable with the celebrity and notoriety the position introduced him, Gleeson took a break from appearing in 2014 after his time on the acclaimed HBO series ended.

“The life-style that comes with being an actor in a profitable TV present is not one thing I gravitate in direction of,” he told The Irish Independent in 2013 earlier than including, “Since going to Trinity and garnering an curiosity in philosophy and with Purpose and my theatre firm, I’ve sort of simply re-evaluated what I wish to do.”

Nonetheless, the actor has since had a change of coronary heart about retiring, returning to the display screen in 2021’s Rebecca’s Boyfriend and 2023’s Within the Lands of Saints and Sinners, in addition to on TV exhibits resembling Intercourse Schooling, The Well-known 5, Secure Harbor and The Sandman.

Christy Turlington

Supermodel Christy Turlington first conquered trend runways and graced the covers of magazines earlier than taking her skills to the classroom. Turlington enrolled in New York College’s Gallatin Faculty of Individualized Research in 1994 to earn her comparative faith and Japanese philosophy diploma. She would later obtain her grasp’s in public well being from Columbia College Mailman Faculty of Public Well being.

The previous face of Calvin Klein, who has been married to filmmaker Ed Burns since 2003, revealed why she went again to highschool.

“Every year, I’d say ‘yet another yr,’ and that acquired outdated,” she told Interview magazine in 2013. “So, after one notably grueling season on the couture exhibits in Paris in the summertime of ’94, I made a decision that was it. I got here dwelling and utilized to NYU, and began courses that fall. I beloved my faculty expertise.”

Megan Thee Stallion

Regardless of her supersonic rise to fame — together with taking home a Grammy for best new artist in 2021 — Megan (born Megan Pete) was dedicated to incomes a level to honor her late mom.

The “Savage” rapper graduated from TSU with a bachelor’s in well being administration and streamed the graduation ceremony on X (previously Twitter) and Instagram for her fanbase, the Hotties.

“I wish to get my diploma as a result of I really want my mom to be proud,” she advised PEOPLE in 2020 about her mother, Holly Thomas, who died in 2019 after battling mind most cancers. “She noticed me going to highschool earlier than she handed.”

She continued, “I would like my large mama to be proud. She noticed me going to highschool earlier than she handed,” mentioned Megan, whose grandmother died two weeks after Thomas. “My grandmother, that is nonetheless alive, was a instructor, so she’s on my butt about ending faculty. I am doing it for me, however I am additionally doing it for the ladies in my household who made me who I’m right now.”

Stephen Curry

On Could 22, 2022, Stephen Curry acquired his faculty diploma from Davidson Faculty 13 years after first getting into the NBA. The basketball star celebrated the achievement with a sequence of pictures on Instagram, calling the diploma a “dream come true.”

“Class of 2010….aka 2022, however we acquired it performed!” Curry captioned the throwback photograph. “Due to my entire village that helped me get throughout the end line. Made the promise once I left and needed to see it by.”

His group, the Golden State Warriors, additionally shared the information via Instagram with a doodle of Curry in his Warriors uniform, sporting his commencement cap and robe. The athlete earned his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology.

Ariel Winter

Ariel Winter was solely 11 when she starred because the good center little one Alex Dunphy on ABC’s Modern Family. After a childhood spent in entrance of the digicam and years of homeschooling, per Teen Vogue, the actress enrolled at UCLA to discover different avenues past appearing.

“I undoubtedly wish to proceed being an actress. I find it irresistible,” Winter told The Hollywood Reporter in 2017. “The explanation I’ll faculty is as a result of I do need information in one other discipline. Faculty is not the faculty expertise for me.”

She added, “I am not going to be in a sorority, I am not going to community, I am not even actually going to make my lifelong buddies. I’ve had the profession expertise. I’ve had the expertise of taking good care of myself. I’ll faculty as a result of I genuinely wish to study.”

In 2019, Winter took a hiatus from her research to discover a higher stability between faculty and her profession, telling USA Today that she “overestimated what I may do at the moment.”

Kim Kardashian

The Keeping Up with the Kardashians alum first revealed her authorized aspirations in a 2019 interview with Vogue.

Following within the footsteps of her late father, lawyer Robert Kardashian Sr., Kim started a four-year apprenticeship with a agency in San Francisco to pursue her legislation diploma.

“There are occasions once I could possibly be pissed off and learning actually late and should stand up and surprise how he did it, having four kids and should’ve been going by among the similar issues that I’ve gone by,” Kim mentioned throughout a press tour on the Tv Critics Affiliation in 2020. “So it will have been thrilling to speak to him about that, and I know that he would be so, so proud.”

Although she briefly attended Pierce Faculty in L.A., she by no means graduated, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Nonetheless, California is one in all three different U.S. states that offer a path to passing the bar with out attending legislation faculty by “studying the legislation” or apprenticing with a working towards lawyer or choose.

Finding out with non-public tutors, the SKIMS founder revealed throughout a 2021 episode of KUWTK that she had failed the “child bar” examination for a second time.

“I feel bummed like totally bummed,” she mentioned of the frustration. “It’s what it’s. I do know I simply should not stress about it. There’s so many different f—— issues, irritating issues, occurring. I simply should do higher sooner or later.”

On her fourth strive, Kim shared the information on X (previously Twitter) that she handed the “Child Bar” (a.okay.a. the First-Yr Legislation Pupil’s Examination) in 2021.

“OMFGGGG I PASSED THE BABY BAR EXAM! Wanting within the mirror, I’m actually pleased with the lady trying again right now within the reflection. For anybody who doesnt know my legislation faculty journey, know this wasn’t simple or handed to me,” she wrote.

PEOPLE confirmed in March 2025 that The Kardashians star took the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) in L.A., a crucial step earlier than taking the bar and working towards legislation in California.

Anthony Anderson

Weeks after his sequence Black-ish wrapped after eight seasons, Anthony Anderson celebrated one other main milestone: graduating from Howard College in 2022.

“Phrases cannot start to explain the emotional curler coaster I am on proper now. It’s literally been 30 years in the making,” the actor captioned a sequence of pictures on Instagram from graduation day. “It is by no means too late! Issues occur once they’re speculated to occur!”

Anderson earned a BFA from the Chadwick Boseman Faculty of Tremendous Arts, reaching a dream that started a long time in the past.

The comic beforehand spoke about his time on the HBCU, revealing that he initially dropped out as a result of monetary causes.

“I used to be paying for faculty myself, and I ran out of cash after my junior yr,” Anderson mentioned throughout an appearance on The Tonight Show in 2018. “I have been talking to the college … about making a curriculum that I can take on-line and at dwelling, and do some sensible courses on campus so I can stroll with my son [Nathan] in 2022.”

Although Anderson and his son did not in the end share the stage, Anderson thanked his son for uplifting him to return to highschool within the Instagram caption.

Leah Remini

PEOPLE Puzzler host Leah Remini revealed on X (previously Twitter) in 2022 that she closed the books on her first finals at New York College.

“Going to varsity for the primary time at 51 after dwelling most of my life in a cult and solely having an Eighth-grade schooling hasn’t been simple,” Remini wrote. “However I took my first NYU last exams this week, and I am glad I made a decision to coach myself.”

“It’s never too late. It is robust, however it’s price it,” Remini mentioned.

The previous King of Queens star first introduced her acceptance to NYU in 2021, explaining that she “desperately wanted a higher education and options in my life.”

She would later earn her affiliate’s diploma in liberal arts in 2024, beforehand describing the expertise as “wonderful.”

“It has been tough once I’m working as a result of generally I will work from 5 a.m. to eight p.m. after which have to come back dwelling and skim chapters and do a quiz when my mind is shutting down,” Remini advised PEOPLE again in 2022 of juggling faculty and life as a spouse and mom. “However I am doing it, and I am proud of myself. With my diploma, I’d finally wish to go into politics, however who is aware of? I wish to be of some sort of public service.”

Renée Zellweger

Oscar-winning actress Renée Zellweger revealed in an interview on Today in 2022 that she took legislation courses throughout her Hollywood hiatus from 2010 to 2016.

“I wanted to step away and sort of develop as an individual and study some issues that weren’t associated to work,” the Bridget Jones franchise star mentioned. “I imply, that is one in all my favourite issues concerning the work, is that you’ve a chance to study issues that you just would not in any other case have event to discover. Went to highschool and simply, , took a while out and determined I wished to perhaps take part differently.”

When former As we speak co-host Hoda Kotb requested about attending faculty, Zellweger clarified, “I snuck into UCLA for a little while and did some public coverage. Worldwide legislation. Eager about politics.”

Natalie Portman

In 1999, 18-year-old Natalie Portman enrolled at Harvard College and finally graduated with a level in psychology.

“I do not care if [college] ruins my profession … I would somewhat be sensible than a film star,” the Black Swan star told Vanity Fair in 2016, including, “I got here from such a severe, educational household, the place the one factor that was acceptable was to be very literate and educated—you change into a professor or a health care provider or a lawyer.”

Portman continued, “My dad pulled me apart once I was 25 and was like, ‘I believe it is time so that you can go to legislation faculty or grad faculty.’ Not that he was saying that appearing was dangerous, however extra that he was like, ‘I believe you will be extra fulfilled if in case you have one thing extra — like a lifetime of the thoughts.’ ”

Enjoyable reality: Portman was a senior at the university when Mark Zuckerberg created Fb; she graduated from Harvard in 2003, the identical yr she appeared in Chilly Mountain alongside Nicole Kidman and Zellweger.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen

After spending most of their childhood in entrance of the digicam, Full House alums Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen retired from appearing, specializing in their schooling and rising their trend empire. In 2004, the well-known twins graduated from L.A.’s Campbell Corridor Faculty and enrolled within the Gallatin Faculty of Individualized Research at New York College.

“Like each different senior, that they had been sweating out their acceptance, and they’re completely thrilled,” their former longtime publicist, Michael Pagnotta, advised PEOPLE in 2003. “They have always taken academics very seriously. This can be a main achievement for them.”

Nonetheless, their time on the faculty was transient, because the New York Minute stars determined to depart faculty to “pursue personal interests.” In 2006, the duo launched their luxurious model, The Row.

Jodie Foster

Jodie Foster began as a famous person mannequin when she was a toddler and have become the face of Coppertone sunscreen in 1965 when she was simply 3 years outdated. The marketing campaign’s success helped launch the filmmaker’s prolific profession, resulting in her first film position at 9 within the 1972 movie Napoleon and Samantha. 

By the point Foster was prepared for faculty, she had already appeared in almost 30 movies and TV motion pictures, together with Taxi Driver, which earned the actress her first Oscar nomination at age 14. 

So, was there any doubt that the prodigy was Ivy League-bound? 

In 1980, Foster enrolled at Yale College and earned her bachelor’s diploma in literature.

“I frolicked with folks I believed had been distinctive, nonconformist, considerably complicated … I had my first and final bout with tequila. I did ska dances on the street, water-ballooned singing teams, philosophized and talked soiled till 5 within the morning,” Foster wrote in a 1982 essay for Esquire, opening up about her expertise at Yale. “The control I’d had all those years was self-imposed and alienating.”

Whilst she was learning at some of the prestigious faculties on the planet, she made the occasional movie, turning out 5 motion pictures whereas she was a Bulldog.

Miranda Cosgrove

Since she was first found in a restaurant whereas singing, Miranda Cosgrove‘s life has been a whirlwind of occasions. After a little bit of modeling and some minor roles, she acquired her large break within the position of Summer season Hathaway with the 2003 megahit School of Rock. Cosgrove would change into a family title because of main roles on Drake & Josh and iCarly, making her Nickelodeon’s “It Lady” of the early 2000s. 

She later took a break from her nonstop schedule for somewhat “me time” and enrolled at UCLA in 2012. There, she studied psychology, however that wasn’t at all times her main.

Throughout a 2017 interview on Live with Kelly and Ryan (now Live with Kelly and Mark), the actress revealed she initially majored in movie.

“I preserve switching it up,” Cosgrove mentioned. “My dad did psychology at USC too, however he owns a dry-cleaning business, however he nonetheless says he makes use of it on a regular basis.”

America Ferrera

America Ferrera started her appearing profession across the similar time she began her educational profession on the College of Southern California — Los Angeles (USC), touchdown roles in 2002 in Disney’s Gotta Kick It Up! and Real Women Have Curves.

Earlier than she was set to start her freshman yr at USC, Ferrera was provided a starring position on the ABC sitcom Ugly Betty in 2002. She took the gig, placing her schooling on maintain and vowing to return to her research.

She did simply that in 2008, one yr after incomes an Emmy and Golden Globe in 2007 for her efficiency as Betty Suarez. The Barbie star graduated in 2013 with a level in worldwide relations, per USCDornsife.

In a 2018 interview with Reese Witherspoon for Hello Sunshine, Ferrera talked about her unconventional profession path.

“After I got here to varsity, I already had the unbelievable alternative to behave in Actual Lady Have Curves, which was my first characteristic movie,” she mentioned. “As a result of I had began working as an actress, I made a decision to not do appearing faculty and research one thing that — I did not notice on the time — however had at all times equally been so essential to me, which was studying concerning the world round me.”

Swizz Beatz

Hip-hop producer and artist Swizz Beatz (born Kasseem Dean) is finest identified for his work within the studio, creating hits for Beyoncé, DMX and Jay-Z. But regardless of his mega success and a number of Grammy wins, the entrepreneur and husband of Alicia Keys wished to sharpen his management and enterprise abilities.

He turned to probably the greatest establishments within the nation to assist enhance his already spectacular ability set.

In 2017, the “Celebration Up (Up in Right here)” hitmaker posted on Instagram, “As we speak I’ll change into a Harvard alumni, and though I am not getting an MBA, nobody can EVER take this accomplishment away from me.”

According to Billboard, he graduated from Harvard Enterprise Faculty’s Proprietor/President Administration Program. The management program is designed for execs and entrepreneurs to bolster their enterprise abilities.

Shaquille O’Neal

Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal began his profession at Louisiana State College (LSU) however left after three years to show professional. He promised his mother and father that he would finally graduate and made good on that promise in 2000 when he earned his bachelor’s diploma from LSU after seven summers of onerous work.

“I go away faculty, I get $40 million, I get $100 million, I get $80 million. However I am getting calls as soon as every week. ‘Yeah, you are doing motion pictures, you are doing albums, however you promised me you’d return to highschool.’ I by no means prefer to let my mother down, so I went,” O’Neal mentioned in 2021 on an episode of In Depth with Graham Bensinger podcast (via Shaq Fu Radio).

By no means one to show away from a problem, the previous Lakers star continued his schooling by pursuing an MBA from the College of Phoenix and a doctorate from Barry University, according to Benzinga.

Emma Watson

After taking a break from appearing, Emma Watson enrolled at Brown College in 2009 and graduated with a level in English Literature in 2014.

Like her alter ego, Hermione, the Harry Potter star could not avoid academia for lengthy. In 2023, she enrolled in a grasp’s program in artistic writing at Oxford College, and in 2025, Oxford Mail reported she was pursuing her doctorate. Watson beforehand attended the celebrated faculty in the course of the 2011-12 educational yr as a part of the Visiting Pupil Program.

The Little Women actress acknowledged that her transfer away from appearing was within the curiosity of her well-being and that, through the years, she felt that the movie trade was not fairly proper for her anymore.

“What I discovered actually onerous was having to exit and promote one thing that I had no management over. Feeling like I needed to be the spokesperson for one thing I wasn’t absolutely concerned in was difficult,” Watson told Hello! in 2023.

Haley Joel Osment

Haley Joel Osment graduated from NYU’s Tisch Faculty of the Arts in 2011, selecting to excellent his craft within the classroom somewhat than on the large display screen.

In 2014, he told The New Yorker, “A movie like The Sixth Sense burns a picture of who you’re into folks’s minds. Within the midst of that, it may be tough to know who you’re or who you’re turning into. Faculty appeared like a manageable subsequent step, a spot the place I may determine that stuff out.”

Bridgit Mendler

Former Disney Channel star and pop singer Bridgit Mendler mixed somewhat good luck and numerous brains to graduate from Harvard Law School together with her legislation diploma in 2024.

Her official LinkedIn profile states that she started attending Harvard in 2021 for her Physician of Legislation (J.D.) diploma.

The “Hurricane” singer additionally has a grasp’s diploma from the Massachusetts Institute of Expertise, the place she was pursuing a Ph.D. from the identical college earlier than occurring go away.

In 2024, Mendler spoke about her educational research in a message shared on X (previously Twitter).

“It got here to my consideration that one thing on my LinkedIn profile is inflicting confusion that I wish to make clear: I’m 2 months away from a JD and I do not have already got a PhD,” she wrote, including, “The PhD is one thing I began working in direction of in 2020 and I pursued it collectively with my legislation diploma however once I moved to California final summer time and determined that for household causes we’d keep on the west coast, it needed to go on pause.”

The Good Luck Charlie star is the CEO and co-founder of Northwood House, “a startup working to create a “information freeway between Earth and house.”

Mayim Bialik

Typically, life imitates artwork, and artwork imitates life.

After starring because the titular character on the sitcom Blossom, Mayim Bialik traded her scripts for science texts. In 2000, the Beaches star acquired her undergraduate diploma in neuroscience from the College of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), with a minor in Hebrew and Jewish research. Bialik would proceed her schooling on the college, graduating with a doctorate in neuroscience in 2007.

Nonetheless, she wasn’t fairly performed with appearing. After a 12-year break, Bialik found that being a scientist may need been her dream, however it got here with a couple of challenges.

In a 2018 interview with SiriusXM, the actress defined why she took the position of Amy Farrah Fowler on the CBS sequence The Big Bang Theory.

“I used to be working out of medical insurance. That is a real story,” Bialik mentioned. “I had my first little one in grad faculty, and I took my doctoral hood once I was seven and a half months pregnant, and I used to be working out of medical insurance. I had a new child, just about, and a toddler — and I figured if I can simply work … even a pair jobs can get you your Display Actors Guild medical insurance.”

She added, “I’ve by no means seen The Massive Bang Concept. Did not know what it was. I used to be requested to audition for a visitor spot, probably a recurring position. I did not watch TV. I used to be too busy nursing people. It was an exquisite, great accident.”

Karlie Kloss

Victoria’s Secret Angel Karlie Kloss determined to unfold her wings in 2015 when she opted to return to her studies and attend NYU’s Gallatin Faculty of Individualized Research. Kloss acquired a serving to hand from alum and fellow mannequin Turlington to get into the celebrated faculty.

“I used to be ready for the mail to reach each single day,” the mannequin told Vogue in 2015. “It is one thing that I’ve wished to do for a really very long time.”

She added, “I will nonetheless be working full-time. I am extremely bold and have numerous objectives inside my profession that I am not slowing down on anytime quickly.”

Since her faculty days, Kloss has been busy together with her rising household, entrepreneurial endeavors and activism, together with founding Kode with Klossy, a free coding camp for younger women.

Brooke Shields

Brooke Shields has been knowledgeable mannequin since she was an toddler in Ivory Cleaning soap adverts. Ever since she made her movie debut at 9 years outdated within the 1974 TV film After the Fall, she virtually grew up within the public eye, working nonstop and even appearing on the cover of PEOPLE at 13.

Nonetheless, when the time got here for faculty, The Blue Lagoon star put her profession on maintain in 1983 to attend Princeton College, the place she earned a bachelor’s degree in French literature, according to Princeton Alumni Weekly.

“The primary place I ever actually felt confidence was at Princeton,” Shields mentioned throughout her guide tour in 2025, per the alumni magazine. “This was the primary place that I felt the liberty to grasp my very own ideas. And I believe that that is a luxurious, and that is a present.”

Oprah Winfrey

Whereas it might have been dangerous for Oprah Winfrey to drop out of Tennessee State College to pursue media, it paid off. The previous speak present host later returned in 1986 to complete her diploma in communications and performing arts.

Throughout her graduation handle at her alma mater in 2023, the media mogul commented on the irony of receiving her long-awaited diploma whereas she was already established in her storied profession.

She revealed her father, Vernon Winfrey, pushed her to return to highschool, at all times asking her, “If you going to get that diploma?”

In 1988, the Daytime Emmy winner submitted a couple of of her daytime exhibits and a paper to snag her last credit score.

“So I acquired my diploma from Tennessee State, proper across the time I acquired my third Emmy,” Oprah mentioned, per ABC24 Memphis.

Ashley Judd

It could have taken 17 years, however Ashley Judd graduated from the College of Kentucky in 2007 with a bachelor’s diploma in French. Although she started her schooling in earnest, Judd left faculty only one course wanting incomes her diploma to pursue a profession in appearing, per The Hollywood Reporter.

The Double Jeopardy actress graduated with a level in Grasp of Public Administration from Harvard College’s Kennedy Faculty of Authorities in 2010.

In 2016, Judd revealed she was accepted into UC Berkeley’s Ph.D. program in public coverage.

“I’ve determined to take the subsequent step in my educational journey,” Judd advised followers in a video shared on Facebook. “Typically, I am actually excited, generally I am like, ‘What have I gotten myself into?!’ I am very esteemed and honored that they accepted me.”

Dylan and Cole Sprouse

Dylan Sprouse and Cole Sprouse began in showbiz once they had been younger, sharing roles in 1999 movies resembling Big Daddy and The Astronaut’s Spouse. Cole then moved on to TV with a recurring position on Friends earlier than he and his twin brother, Dylan, landed the Disney Channel present The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, which turned the duo into superstars.

After Disney, each enrolled at New York College and graduated in 2015. Identified for his or her off-kilter humor, the twosome’s shenanigans did not cease simply because they had been graduating, because the twins admitted that they switched locations in the course of the ceremony.

“We really acquired one another’s diplomas,” Cole told Teen Vogue in 2015.

Dylan added, “In truth, in the event you search for my graduating photograph you will see. We simply determined, , there is no motive to not. Nobody’s going to note.”

Since their commencement, the Sprouse siblings have pursued different paths on their profession journey. Cole has continued appearing, enjoying Jughead Jones on Riverdale and starring within the 2025 crime thriller The Rivals of Amziah King alongside Matthew McConaughey and Kurt Russell.

Dylan has secured roles right here and there, however he is additionally branched out into different endeavors because the co-founder of the All-Wise Meadery.

Elisabeth Shue

Elisabeth Shue started her profession in 1985 with The Karate Kid when she was 20. On the time, she was enrolled at Harvard however left earlier than graduating to pursue her appearing profession.

Following her star-making turn as Ali — the love curiosity of Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) — Shue went on to star in lots of movies, together with Adventures of Babysitting (1987), Back to the Future II (1989), Back to the Future III (1990) and Leaving Las Vegas (1995), for which she was nominated for an Oscar for Greatest Actress.

Nonetheless, in 2000, the actress determined to complete her schooling and returned to finish her diploma, incomes a bachelor’s in political science.

“Graduating was the best achievement of my life to this point, aside from being a mother,” Shue told The Morning Call in 2005.

Julia Stiles

Julia Stiles was solely 15 when she made her large display screen debut in 1996’s I Love You, I Love You Not, and simply 17 when the 1999 teen rom-com 10 Things I Hate About You went into manufacturing, per Yahoo Entertainment. Nonetheless, the Save the Last Dance actress did not let superstardom get in the way in which of her schooling.

Stiles studied English literature at Columbia College whereas making movies like 2002’s The Bourne Identity and hosting Saturday Night Live.

When requested how she managed to juggle all of it, Stiles told Rolling Stone in 2001, “I take into consideration that on a regular basis, I actually do. Someway, I simply do it. However faculty will assist me as an actress as a result of it makes me extra attention-grabbing.

Dakota Fanning

Gifted at a younger age, Dakota Fanning‘s first position at 7 years outdated earned her accolades and reward proper out of the gate. For her position as Lucy in 2001’s I Am Sam, she grew to become the youngest actress ever nominated for a SAG Award.

Fanning grew to become an actress in excessive demand because of roles in movies resembling 2003’s The Cat within the Hat with Mike Myers and 2005’s Conflict of the Worlds, reverse Tom Cruise. Nonetheless, when the second got here to think about faculty, the Once Upon A Time In… Hollywood star determined to pause her profession to deal with her schooling.

According to Backstage, Fanning pursued a level from the NYU Gallatin Faculty of Individualized Research, the place she majored in girls’s research, specializing in “the portrayal of ladies in movie and tradition.”

Throughout an look on the As we speak present in 2018, Fanning mentioned it took her a bit longer to graduate, however that “it is one thing that is essential” to her.

“I do know I will be pleased once I accomplish it,” she mentioned.

Yara Shahidi

What’s cooler? Being accepted to Harvard College or getting Michelle Obama to write down you a letter of advice? Effectively, Yara Shahidi did not have to decide on.

The Black-ish and Grown-ish star — who performed a school scholar on the latter sequence — initially deferred her acceptance to the Ivy League faculty for a yr to work on a couple of tasks however enrolled in Harvard in 2017. The actress entered the college’s Social Research & African American Research program, specializing in “Black political thought beneath a neocolonial panorama.”

Shahidi graduated in 2022, telling Vogue, “It’s surreal to have finally hit this major milestone. I’ve identified I wished to go to varsity since I used to be 4. By 17, I knew precisely what I wished to review, so to see that come to fruition is a aim fulfilled.”

She hosts The Optimist Project with Yara Shahidi podcast together with her mom, Keri Shahidi, and is the co-founder of seventh Solar Productions.

Claire Danes

Claire Danes made an enduring impression on most Gen-Xers together with her flip as Angela Chase on the short-lived however much-beloved TV sequence My So-Called Life. Adopted by a memorable efficiency as Juliet within the 1996 movie Romeo + Juliet, Danes rapidly grew to become an A-lister.

In 1998, the famous person attended Yale, the place she briefly studied psychology. Nonetheless, Danes did not end her diploma, opting to depart after two years.

Throughout an interview with Howard Stern in 2018, Danes mentioned that her time on the Ivy League “felt ample,” including, “Principally I simply, like, smoked pot and performed Mario Tennis with my buddies.”

Poppy Harlow

Former longtime CNN anchor Poppy Harlow stepped away from her dream job to pursue one other aim: attending legislation faculty. In 2021, she introduced she was stepping away from the community to additional her schooling. 

“Beginning subsequent week, I will likely be taking a break from being with you each morning on this present in order that I can return to highschool. Sure, faculty! I’m going to study law for a master’s degree,” Harlow mentioned throughout a section on Newsroom, per CNN. “It is one thing I’ve wished to do for a very long time.”

The journalist mentioned her late father, mental property litigator James Harlow, and the late Supreme Court docket Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg impressed her resolution to advance her authorized information.

Harlow went on to earn a grasp’s diploma in research of legislation from Yale Law School in 2022 after beforehand receiving her bachelor’s diploma in political science from Columbia College in 2005.

In 2024, Harlow departed from CNN as the principle anchor of This Morning, writing on Instagram, “I loved every moment @cnn ❤️” alongside a sequence of pictures, together with a quote from TV producer Ted Turner.

Anna Paquin

One of many youngest Academy Award winners of all time, because of her efficiency in The Piano at age 11, Anna Paquin already had an Oscar beneath her belt when she enrolled at Columbia College in 2001. Whereas on the faculty, the True Blood star studied English and French literature however determined to drop out to focus extra on her appearing profession.

Paquin’s time as a scholar may need been brief, however whereas at Columbia, her well-known classmates included Stiles and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Nick Cannon

At 35, Nick Cannon determined it was time to complete his formal schooling and enrolled as a freshman at Howard College in 2016. The Masked Singer host shared his educational journey with followers on social media as he earned a bachelor’s diploma in criminology/administration of justice with a minor in African research.

When he graduated in 2020, the multihyphenate was given an opportunity to talk on the digital ceremony, throughout which he expressed his gratitude.

“I’m at all times looking for new challenges and continuous progress and determined to acquire my first faculty diploma from an establishment that has a confirmed legacy of manufacturing nice minds,” Cannon mentioned in a video the college posted on Instagram. “I’ve buddies, mentors and colleagues who attended Howard College. I sit up for this new journey in my life and am excited concerning the potentialities forward.”

Tyra Banks

Tyra Banks proved she was on the prime of the category in 2012 when she graduated from the Harvard Enterprise Faculty’s Proprietor/President Administration Program.

“Smilin’ ear-to-ear on the Harvard Enterprise Faculty campus with my diploma! Tnx to my fab photographer mama for the pic!” Banks shared on Facebook.

Along with pursuing a enterprise diploma from one of many prime faculties within the nation, the previous America’s Next Top Model host additionally enrolled in culinary faculty, however for much extra private causes.

“I’ve by no means been one to be very enthusiastic about cooking. I put all of my vitality into my work and to succeeding, so as a substitute of cooking, I eat at eating places on a regular basis, order in, or defrost frozen meals in my microwave. That every one modified the day my son was born,” wrote Banks on Instagram in 2016 about her resolution to attend the Culinary Institute of America.

Alongside a photograph of herself sporting a chef’s jacket, Banks continued within the caption, “I wish to be his chef. I would like him to go to varsity and miss his MOMMY’S masterpieces.”

She later taught a category in 2017 at Stanford Enterprise Faculty that targeted on utilizing social and conventional media to 1’s benefit, according to Forbes.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

When Levitt enrolled at Columbia College in 2001, he was already super-famous for his roles in 10 Things I Hate About You and on third Rock from the Solar.

In 2016, the Emmy-winning actor recounted why he initially gave up appearing to attend faculty and his return to the trade.

“I give up appearing for some time as a result of I would at all times beloved appearing, however all my buddies had been, as you say, kinda going off and getting began in a approach. Saying like, ‘What am I going to do? What am I going to be?’ And I wished that. I wished to not know what I used to be going to do,” Levitt mentioned throughout an interview on Off Camera with Sam Jones. “That was essential to me — to get to ask myself these questions and provides myself that contemporary begin.”

Eva Longoria

Eva Longoria started her appearing profession after navigating collegiate life. Earlier than landing her first roles on daytime soaps, Eva Longoria had already earned her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from Texas A&M College–Kingsville in 2003.

Longoria returned to highschool, receiving a grasp’s diploma in Chicano and Chicana Research from California State College of Northridge (CSUN) in 2013 — all whereas filming Desperate Housewives.

The actress and Flamin’ Hot director celebrated her achievement on X (previously Twitter), writing, “In my cap and robe with mother and pop! I seem like Harry Potter!”

Steven Spielberg

Would you imagine that USC rejected Steven Spielberg from their movie faculty when he first utilized? The E.T. (1982) director could not get into the celebrated college as a result of his grades, so he enrolled in California State College of Lengthy Seaside (CSULB) in 1965, specializing in English. Nonetheless, after impressing bigwigs at Common along with his brief movie Amblin’, Spielberg put his schooling apart in 1968 for a career in filmmaking.

He returned to CSULB in 2001, the place, lengthy after turning into a legendary director, he wrote the paper for his Pure Science 492 class that he wanted to graduate. This allowed him to earn that one lacking credit score and thus full his necessities for his Bachelor of Arts.

Per the Los Angeles Times, Spielberg graduated in 2002 — 37 years (and two Oscar wins later) after he first enrolled!

Georgia Could Jagger

Daughter of The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger and mannequin Jerry Hall, Georgia May Jagger was already making a reputation for herself as a mannequin when she enrolled on the New York Faculty of Visible Arts in 2010, the place she studied pictures.

“I did not wish to miss out on my schooling to mannequin. I can not just do modeling,” she told Teen Vogue in 2011.

Bryce Dallas Howard

Whereas celebrating her graduation from NYU in 2020, actress Bryce Dallas Howard revealed she left faculty earlier than graduating in 2001 as a result of she acquired an Off-Broadway appearing job.

“I absolutely supposed on graduating at some point,” she reportedly wrote in a note to fellow Tisch Drama graduates. “In truth, I regularly deferred the next semester and the semesters after that, hoping that as a substitute of ‘dropping out,’ I used to be merely taking a ‘go away of absence.’ Once more, and repeatedly.”

Nonetheless, Howard — who married her faculty sweetheart, Seth Gabel, in 2006 and has “two awesome kids” — careworn that she by no means misplaced her aim of getting her diploma.

“I wasn’t in any respect intimidated by the very fact I’d be a long time older than nearly all of graduates,” mentioned the Jurassic World franchise actress. “My husband and I did the mathematics and realized that many infants born the yr I first began NYU had been most likely graduating alongside me, which made me much more excited. How wild, how bizarre, and what an awesome story.”

Howard wrote on Instagram on graduation day: “I’m so overcome with pleasure. This has been 21 years within the making.”

James Franco

James Franco nabbed his undergraduate diploma from UCLA in 2008. In 2011, he moved to N.Y.C. to attend Columbia College’s MFA writing program, New York College’s Tisch Faculty of the Arts for filmmaking and Brooklyn Faculty for fiction writing — all earlier than enrolling in Yale’s Ph.D. program.

Throughout his graduation speech at Cornell College’s Senior Convocation in 2016, the Hey Joe (2024) star admitted he felt “trapped” as an actor, and schooling opened new doorways for him, thus permitting him to develop as an individual, per TIME.

“After going again to highschool, I studied all of the issues I used to be keen on with unbelievable folks in every of these fields,” Franco mentioned. “And now I not solely act, I do, effectively, I do all the pieces. Effectively, not likely, however I do all the pieces that I am keen on. Effectively, virtually all the pieces. I most likely may have mentioned ‘no’ to that hosting the Oscars thing. However the level I am making is that as a result of I pursue what pursuits me and excites me, my life is mine to regulate.”