35 Celebrities Who Went Back To College After They Became Famous

Gordon-Levitt was already a TV star with 3rd Rock From the Sun when he enrolled at Columbia University in New York.

The NBA star left the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during his junior year to play basketball professionally, but returned to the school in 1986 to earn his degree in Cultural Geography.

The Black Swan actress isn’t only an Oscar winner — she’s also a Harvard grad. She majored in Psychology and earned her degree in 2003, years after starring in Leon: The Professional and Star Wars: Episode II.

The former Suite Life of Zack and Cody actor attended NYU to study Video Game Design, despite making bank from his Disney Channel career.

His twin Cole also attended NYU, where he studied Archeology.

The iCarly actress was between NYU and USC for college, but decided to stay in Los Angeles to get her degree just in case she wanted to act on the side. She is currently pursuing her education.

Though she had already starred in films like Taxi Driver and Freaky Friday, Foster enrolled at Yale University immediately after high school and even graduated from the institution with a degree in Literature.

Olsen enrolled in NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study in 2003 after spending years on sitcoms — and being worth a whopping $150 million dollars.

Ashley’s twin also attended NYU, but took a leave of absence sophomore year to focus on her responsibilities at their company DualStar.

If you haven’t seen the actress onscreen in a while, it’s probably because she’s been busy with her NYU schooling — she started at the university in 2011.

The Ugly Betty actress graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in International Relations after spending ten years on her education.

The child star had the sense to go to college despite his fame — he graduated from NYU in 2010.

The Harry Potter star decided to take a break from acting to study at Brown University. She graduated in 2014 with a degree in English Literature.

Though she had done her high school years as a TV star with My So-Called Life, she took a two-year hiatus from the spotlight in 1998 to study Drama at Yale University.

The model/mogul decided to expand her knowledge of business by enrolling in Harvard University’s Owner/President Management extension program in 2012.

Like Banks, the music producer was also recently accepted to Harvard University’s Owner/President Management extension program.

The Desperate Housewives star began working on her degree in Chicano and Chicana Studies from the California State University Northridge while still on the ABC series, and received her master’s degree in 2013.

The model isn’t letting her side job interfere with her educational pursuits — she’s currently enrolled at the School of the Visual Arts in New York City.

Though you might think that the famous director would be teaching a course on filmmaking instead of earning his degree, the E.T. director went back to school in 2001 to earn his bachelor’s degree from Cal State Long Beach.

Though he already has a major franchise under his belt — the Hunger Games — the young actor is currently pursuing a degree at USC.

He may have won American Idol, but the star is currently busy pursuing a degree at North Carolina State University.

The “Hips Don’t Lie” singer did something that not many other students would want to do during the summer — she took a course at UCLA!

The basketball star may have made a big mark at Louisiana State University in the sports department, but he said it took him almost “seven summers” to finally complete his bachelor’s degree — which he did in 2000.

The Cocktail actress put her college dreams on hold for 12 years to pursue acting, but returned to Harvard University in 2000.

Winfrey dropped out of Tennessee State University to pursue her career in media, but decided to return to the school in 1987 to finish up her degree despite already having a successful career in what she was studying — Communications.

The model/actress had already starred in movies like Blue Lagoon and Pretty Baby when she attended Princeton University.

The Lizzie McGuire actress took online courses through the Harvard Extension Program in 2005 to further her education.

The elder Duff sister also took a two-credit course via the Harvard Extension Program in 2005.

Bialik is just as smart as the character she played on the Big Bang Theory. The actress, who also starred on Blossom as a tween actor, got her undergraduate degree from UCLA in 2000 and later returned for her Ph.D., which she earned in 2007.

The Series of Unfortunate Events actor pursued both acting and an education while living in New York and attending NYU.

The Stand By Me actor briefly attended law school before dropping out to star on the 2010 series The Defenders.

Like 10 Things I Hate About You co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Stiles also attended Columbia University, despite having already starred in movies like Save the Last Dance. She has a bachelor’s degree in English Literature that she earned in 2005.

The Camp X-Ray star enrolled in a class at UCLA in 2013 and is reportedly interested in pursuing a full degree.

The actress returned to the University of Kentucky in 2007 to earn her bachelor’s degree after leaving the school to pursue her acting career.