Entertainment
18 Celebrities You Didn't Know Went to Ivy League Schools
Fact: You don't need a college degree to become famous. But just because a four-year education is mandatory for Hollywood doesn't mean that every star skipped out on working towards a diploma. Plenty of celebrities have college memories to look back on, and a small section of those stars also can boast that their aluma mater is an Ivy League institution. So which smartypants stars worked their way through one of these rigorous academic environments? Click through to find out.
John Legend
The “All of Me” singer conducted an acapella group at this university.
John Legend
Legend spent four years in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania.
Natalie Portman
The Black Swan Oscar winner graduated from this prestigious university after she already had several films under her belt.
Natalie Portman
The actress graduated with honors from Harvard University. She holds a degree in psychology.
Mindy Kaling
The Mindy Project star loves her aluma mater so much that she wrote it into her sitcom.
Mindy Kaling
Kaling studied theater at Dartmouth College. In Season 3 of The Mindy Project Mindy’s pal and co-worker Peter returns to Dartmouth to face off in a beer pong competition with this other famous alumni…
Shonda Rhimes
The queen of ABC (she created Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, AND Scandal) is also a Dartmouth alum.
Shonda Rhimes
Rhimes graduated from the Ivy League school in 1991. The producer returned to the school to give the commencement address to the 2014 graduates.
Emma Watson
The Harry Potter actress took a little longer to finish her degree at this Ivy League due to her conflicting filming schedules.
Emma Watson
Watson graduated from Brown University in 2014 after studying English literature.
Connie Britton
Britton had a unique major at this Ivy League institution.
Connie Britton
The Friday Night Lights actress majored in Asian Studies at Dartmouth College.
Lupita Nyong'o
This actress’ education from this prestigious college certainly paid off.
Lupita Nyong'o
The Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner received her Masters in Acting from the Yale School of Drama.
Brooke Shields
Shields was a model and actress before attending this Ivy League college.
Brooke Shields
The former Calvin Klein model graduated from Princeton University in 1987.
Aisha Tyler
The Talk co-host studied government at this university.
Aisha Tyler
Tyler graduated from Dartmouth College in 1992, but admits that she regrets not pursuing her passion for the arts during her four years at the school.
Elizabeth Banks
The Hunger Games star graduated magna cum laude from this Philadelphia university.
Elizabeth Banks
Banks attended the University of Pennsylvania. Her first role at the university was as Aunt Polly in their production of Tom Sawyer.
Julie Bowen
The Modern Family mom is an alum of this college.
Julie Bowen
Bowen is a Brown girl who graduated in 1991.
Dean Norris
The guy who played Hank on Breaking Bad has an impressive degree.
Dean Norris
Norris graduated from Harvard University in 1985 and performed in numerous stage productions at the Cambridge college.
Laura Linney
The Big C actress transferred from Northwestern University to this Rhode Island school.
Laura Linney
The actress graduated in 1986 from Brown University.
Jodie Foster
The star attended this university despite already being known for films like Taxi Driver.
Jodie Foster
The Silence of the Lambs actress graduated from Yale University in 1985.
Rashida Jones
The I Love You, Man star studied religion and philosophy at this university.
Rashida Jones
Jones graduated from Harvard University in 1997 and pursued an acting career with her degree in hand.
Edward Norton
The Birdman actor was allegedly a competitive rower at this school.
Edward Norton
The star graduated from Yale University in 1991 and scored the lead in Primal Fear in 1996.
Tommy Lee Jones
Jones has a B.A. in English from the university.
Tommy Lee Jones
The actor bunked with Al Gore at Harvard University in the ’60s.
Rachel Dratch
The Saturday Night Live cast member graduated from this Ivy League in 1988.
Rachel Dratch
Dratch studied drama and psychology at Dartmouth College.
