It’s easy to forget that plenty of celebrities had completely different plans before they became famous. Some studied subjects that line up pretty well with what they do now, while others earned degrees in fields you’d never expect. A few even finished college while they were already acting, touring, or building their careers. From doctors and neuroscientists to economics and literature majors, these celebrities have some pretty impressive educational backgrounds.
Natalie Portman – Psychology
Natalie Portman was already starring in movies by the time she got to Harvard, but she still graduated with a psychology degree in 2003. She even contributed to research that was published in scientific journals.
Mayim Bialik – Neuroscience
Mayim Bialik playing a neuroscientist on The Big Bang Theory wasn’t much of a stretch. She actually has a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA, where her research focused on obsessive-compulsive disorder in people with Prader-Willi syndrome. Before that, she studied neuroscience along with Hebrew and Jewish studies as an undergrad.
Chris Martin – Greek and Latin
Chris Martin went to University College London and came out with a degree in Greek and Latin. That’s also where he met Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman, and Will Champion, who would eventually become his Coldplay bandmates.
Eva Longoria – Kinesiology
Eva Longoria has managed to squeeze two degrees into her acting career. She earned her bachelor’s in kinesiology from Texas A&M University-Kingsville, then went back to school and completed a master’s in Chicano Studies in 2013. She was already a major TV star by the time she picked up the second diploma.
Carrie Underwood – Mass Communications
Carrie Underwood was only three credits away from graduating when American Idol completely changed her plans. After winning the show, she went back to Northeastern State University and finished her mass communications degree anyway.
J. Cole – Communications
J. Cole graduated magna cum laude from St. John’s University with a communications degree and a business minor. His GPA was 3.82, but there was one small problem: he didn’t actually receive his diploma until years later. A missing library book kept it from him until 2015.
Cole Sprouse – Geographic Information Systems
Cole Sprouse’s college major sounds about as far removed from The Suite Life of Zack & Cody as possible. At NYU, he created a major in Geographic Information Systems, which he has described as basically “virtual cartography.” His twin brother Dylan went to NYU too, but studied video game design instead.
Will Ferrell – Sports Information
Will Ferrell graduated from USC in 1990 with a degree in Sports Information, a major the school doesn’t even offer anymore. The program was discontinued eight years after he graduated, something Ferrell joked about when he returned to USC to give a commencement speech. He called Sports Information graduates an “elite group” simply because there aren’t many of them.
Freddie Highmore – Spanish and Arabic
Freddie Highmore was filming Bates Motel while finishing a degree at Cambridge, which sounds like a scheduling nightmare. He studied Spanish and Arabic at Emmanuel College and graduated in 2014. By that point, he’d already been acting professionally for well over a decade.
Regina Hall – Journalism
There was a point when Regina Hall thought she might end up working for 60 Minutes. She earned a master’s degree in journalism from NYU and has said she was interested in writing and producing news segments. Instead, acting took over and gave her a very different career.
Rashida Jones – Comparative Religion
Rashida Jones graduated from Harvard in 1997 with a degree in comparative religion. Outside the classroom, she was involved in theater and served as musical director for the Harvard Opportunes, a co-ed a cappella group. Those activities gave her plenty of experience performing years before she became known for The Office and Parks and Recreation.
Aziz Ansari – Marketing
Aziz Ansari went to NYU intending to study something useful for becoming an entrepreneur. That led him to a marketing degree, although he later admitted he wasn’t particularly interested in the finance-heavy culture surrounding the program. He finished it while spending much of his energy working on stand-up comedy.
Laverne Cox – Dance
Laverne Cox originally went to Marymount Manhattan College for dance, not acting. She earned a BFA in the subject while also appearing in theater productions, despite that apparently not being encouraged for dance majors. The acting side of things obviously stuck.
Bradley Cooper – English
Before becoming an actor, Bradley Cooper studied English at Georgetown University and graduated with honors. He was especially interested in literature and has recalled getting so invested in Romeo and Juliet that he cried while reading it in the campus library. After graduating, he shifted his focus to acting and went on to study at the Actors Studio Drama School.
Kourtney Kardashian – Theatre Arts
Long before Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Kourtney Kardashian was studying theatre. She started at Southern Methodist University before transferring to the University of Arizona, where she completed a Theatre Arts degree. She also picked up a minor in Spanish along the way.
Gabrielle Union – Sociology
Before getting into acting, Gabrielle Union attended UCLA and earned a degree in sociology. She has said she relied on student loans and worked at the campus bookstore while paying for school. It wasn’t until after college that her career started taking her toward Hollywood.
America Ferrera – International Relations
America Ferrera left USC before graduating when her acting career started taking off. About a decade later, she went back. Ferrera finally completed her international relations degree in 2013 and has said she still uses what she learned in her work outside acting.
Sam Hunt – Economics
Sam Hunt was a college athlete before he was a country singer. He played quarterback at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he studied philosophy before earning his degree in economics. Music wasn’t even the thing getting him attention on campus.
Danai Gurira – Social Psychology
Danai Gurira studied social psychology at Macalester College, graduating in 2001. She was particularly interested in race, gender, and how they can affect people’s experiences in society. Years later, she became known for roles in The Walking Dead and Black Panther.
Lionel Richie – Economics
Lionel Richie attended Tuskegee University, where he graduated with a degree in economics in 1974. His time there also helped launch his music career, as he joined the group that would eventually become the Commodores while he was a student. By graduation, music was already becoming much more than a college side project.
Lupita Nyong’o – Film and African Studies
Lupita Nyong’o studied film and African studies at Hampshire College before going on to Yale. There, she earned a master’s degree in acting from the Yale School of Drama in 2012. The following year, she appeared in 12 Years a Slave, the role that would earn her an Academy Award.
Emma Watson – English Literature
Emma Watson managed to finish college while still working as an actor. She graduated from Brown University with a degree in English literature in 2014 and also spent time studying at Oxford University. Her graduation came just a few years after the final Harry Potter movie was released.
Taraji P. Henson – Drama
Taraji P. Henson studied drama at Howard University and graduated in 1995. Her path through college wasn’t limited to acting, as she also worked while completing her degree. A few years after graduating, she began landing the film and television roles that would build her career.
Meryl Streep – Drama
Before becoming one of Hollywood’s most recognizable actors, Meryl Streep graduated from Vassar College in 1971 with a degree in drama and costume design. She then went on to Yale, where she earned her MFA in drama. Even in graduate school, Streep was already standing out, although she reportedly wasn’t very comfortable being singled out for her talent.
Adam Sandler – Acting
Adam Sandler went to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied acting and graduated in 1988. By then, he had already started performing stand-up and had landed some early television work. Just a few years later, he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live.
Meghan Markle – Theater and International Studies
Meghan Markle attended Northwestern University, where she combined two very different interests. She graduated in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in theater and international studies. Her studies gave her an academic background in both performance and global affairs before her acting career took off.
Sigourney Weaver – Literature
Sigourney Weaver studied literature at Stanford University before graduating in 1971. She then went to Yale, where she earned a master’s degree in acting.
Ken Jeong – Medicine
Ken Jeong had an entire medical career before becoming a full-time actor and comedian. After studying pre-med at Duke University, he earned his medical degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1995. He went on to practice medicine before eventually making the switch to entertainment.
Lisa Kudrow – Biology
Before Friends, Lisa Kudrow planned on following a much more scientific career path. She graduated from Vassar College with a biology degree and spent years working with her physician father, who specialized in headaches. It wasn’t until later that she started performing with an improv group and moved toward acting.
