Stars who attended Ivy League colleges and universities
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It turns out some celebrities really do have it all. Not only are they wildly successful, rich, good-looking and talented, but a rare few have also been educated at the most elite universities in the country. As students head back to school, Wonderwall.com is taking a look at some of the stars who have Ivy League educations on their impressive resumes… “Harry Potter” franchise actress Emma Watson is known for being incredibly well-spoken and intelligent. Maybe her education at Brown University is partly responsible. At Brown, Emma studied English literature, ultimately earning a bachelor’s degree in 2014. She even spent a year studying at Oxford University, coining it her “year abroad” (even though it was actually a chance for her to return home to England).
Keep reading to see who else attended one of the eight Ivy League schools…
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Matt Damon attended Harvard (which was founded in 1636 and happens to be the oldest college in America). Although Matt left before finishing his senior year, his early success on screen is directly linked to his academic pursuits: The 1997 Oscar-winning film he co-wrote and starred in, “Good Will Hunting,” was penned for one of his writing classes at the prestigious university.
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Grammy-winning singer Alicia Keys was once a student at New York’s Columbia University. With an acceptance rate of less than 10%, few can claim student status at the elite institution. Shortly after starting school, however, another Columbia came knocking on Alicia’s door — Columbia Records. Right after starting her higher education, Alicia made one of the most difficult decisions of her life and dropped out of college to pursue a career in music. It seems her choice paid off.
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Boston-born beauty and “Friday Night Lights” and “Nashville” actress Connie Britton graduated from prestigious Dartmouth College in 1989 with a degree in Asian studies with a focus in Chinese.
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Yara Shahidi is officially a Harvard graduate! The “Grown-ish” and “Black-ish” actress earned her bachelor’s degree in African studies, focusing on “Black political thought under a neocolonial landscape.” She told Vogue, “It was important for me, as a young adult, to prove to myself — during these times of transition — that I am capable, and perhaps more capable than I give myself credit.”
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“Saturday Night Live” star and writer Colin Jost can also claim an Ivy league affiliation. He’s a Harvard grad who got a degree in the history and literature of Russia and Britain. He also was a writer for the famous Harvard Lampoon, which undoubtedly helped him develop his remarkable talent for satire.
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Beautiful Brooke Shields might have been at the height of her fame in 1983 after appearing as the face of Calvin Klein Jeans and starring in box office hits like “The Blue Lagoon” and “Pretty Baby,” but that didn’t stop her from getting a college degree. After high school, she enrolled at Princeton University to study French poetry and romance languages. The model-actress later revealed in her memoir “There Was a Little Girl” that while at Princeton, she lost her virginity to another famous student — actor Dean Cain. Brooke graduated from the university with honors in 1987.
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Another Harvard alum? Mira Sorvino, who graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in East Asian studies. The Oscar-winning actress also co-founded one of the university’s co-ed a cappella groups, the Harvard-Radcliffe Veritones, in 1985.
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Mindy Kaling isn’t just one of the funniest, most successful ladies in television — she’s also fiercely smart. In 2001, Mindy graduated from Dartmouth in New Hampshire. Initially, Mindy planned on majoring in Latin but switched to playwriting. In addition to her academic pursuits, she also famously penned a daily comic strip from 1999 to 2001 called “Badly Drawn Girl” under her real name, Mindy Chokalingam.
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“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” star Ellie Kemper is known for her hilarious roles, but she’s also a card-carrying Princeton graduate who once played on the university’s women’s field hockey team. Ellie earned an English degree in 2002 from the top-tier school and later went to Oxford to continue her studies. Since then, the actress has gone on to enjoy a successful career as an actress. Aside from making us laugh on-screen, Ellie occasionally pens essays for McSweeney’s (and they’re usually pretty damn funny).
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Jake Gyllenhaal isn’t just a hunky movie star — he’s also a former student at Columbia University. Jake dropped out two years before completing his degree (which would have been in Eastern religions and philosophy) and went on to star in one of the first box office hits of his career, “Donnie Darko.”
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Another Gyllenhaal who made an educational pit stop at Columbia? Jake’s Oscar-nominated actress and screenwriter sister Maggie Gyllenhaal, who graduated from the elite university in 1999 with a degree in literature.
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Amazing Angela Bassett doesn’t just have one degree from an Ivy League school — she’s got two. The “Black Panther” star has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Yale’s School of Drama. In fact, while attending Yale, Angela met her future husband, actor Courtney B. Vance, who also has two degrees from the prestigious university. Talk about a power couple!
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Amazing music career? Check. EGOT status? Check. Beautiful wife and kids? Check. English degree with an emphasis on African American literature from an Ivy League institution? Check. John Legend didn’t just graduate from the University of Pennsylvania (the only Ivy league school with a state in its name) — he was also offered admission to Harvard and a full-ride scholarship to Georgetown University. Clearly his talent and potential was evident from a very young age.
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A “Saturday Night Live” alum who has an Ivy League degree in her back pocket is comedic actress Kate McKinnon. Kate graduated from Columbia University in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in theater. Not long after, Kate turned her talent for impersonations into a full-time gig, starring on the Logo network’s “Big Gay Sketch Show” for four years. In 2012, Kate joined “SNL” as its first openly gay female cast member.
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John Krasinski graduated from Brown University in 2001 with a degree in theater arts. He spent his first semester abroad in Costa Rica teaching English. When John enrolled at the university, he was dedicated to pursuing a degree in education but later realized acting was a better fit and changed his major.
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Academy Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o is jaw-droppingly beautiful, insanely talented and just happens to have a master of fine arts degree from Yale. After graduating from Hampshire College in Massachusetts with her bachelor’s degree, Lupita was accepted into the Yale School of Drama where she completed her graduate degree in 2012, one year before delivering her award-winning performance in “12 Years a Slave.”
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“Prison Break” star and “Stoker” screenwriter Wentworth Miller has a long history in Hollywood going back to a guest-starring role on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” in 1998. Before he turned to Tinseltown, however, Wentworth attended Princeton, one of the most prestigious universities in the country. In 1995, he graduated with a degree in English literature.
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Living legend Meryl Streep is exceptionally well-educated. Her impressive academic resume includes a bachelor’s degree from Vassar (not Ivy league but a rigorous institution that deserves a mention) followed by a master of fine arts degree from the Yale School of Drama. Since graduation, Meryl has been awarded not one, not two, not even three but four honorary doctorate of fine arts degrees — from Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Indiana University at Bloomington. This means it’s entirely acceptable to call her Dr. Meryl Streep.
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Natalie Portman is smarter than us and we’re not afraid to admit it. The actress, wife and mother of two graduated from Harvard with a degree in psychology in 2003. While there, she even managed to get her research on frontal lobe activation published. It should also be noted that Natalie can rap — as evidenced by her performance with Lonely Island on “Saturday Night Live” in 2006. Clearly, Natalie knows how to live her best life!
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The name Edward Norton just sounds intelligent, doesn’t it? The actor, director and producer lived up to his impressive-sounding name by completing his higher education at one of the top schools in the country, Yale. He graduated in 1991 with a degree in history and promptly moved to Japan — he speaks Japanese — to work at his grandfather’s company before embarking on a career in Hollywood.
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Yes, Rashida Jones is music mogul Quincy Jones’s daughter, but she’s so much more than that. In 1997, the Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker and “Parks & Recreation” actress graduated from Harvard University with a degree in religion and philosophy and, shortly before she was cast in the hit comedy “The Office” in 2006, she almost pursued a graduate degree in public policy.
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“Ray Donovan” star Liev Schreiber might play rough and rugged characters on screen, but he’s totally refined when it comes to his education. Liev studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and at Hampshire College (where he received his bachelor’s degree) before pursuing a master of fine arts degree from the Yale School of Drama in 1992.
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Oscar winner Casey Affleck might have discovered a taste for Hollywood at an early age, but he didn’t let his fame stop him from getting an education. He originally enrolled at George Washington University before transferring to Columbia for his sophomore and junior years. While there, he studied physics, but he eventually decided to drop out before his senior year.
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Aisha Tyler has starred on “The Talk,” “Archer,” “Criminal Minds” and more. She also happens to be a graduate of Dartmouth with a degree in political science. She completed her bachelor’s degree in 1992.
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As a kid, Joseph Gordon-Levitt loved Hollywood but wasn’t always comfortable with fame. The “3rd Rock From the Sun” and “Super Pumped” star took time off from his busy acting schedule in 2000 to indulge in academic pursuits at Columbia, all in the hope he could avoid the limelight for a while. He studied history, literature and even French poetry. Ultimately, he found he couldn’t stay away from his true calling so during his senior year, he dropped out and returned to the big screen.
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One of the stars of the Emmy-winning show “The Handmaid’s Tale” is Max Minghella, a British cutie with a prestigious college degree. He graduated from Columbia University in 2009 after studying history. Before pursuing his higher education, Max considered a career in directing music videos but found his passion for acting after seeing Jake Gyllenhaal on Broadway in “This is Our Youth” in 2002.
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In addition to starring in beloved teen movies like “10 Things I Hate About You” and “Save The Last Dance,” Julia Stiles is also an Ivy League graduate. In 2005, the “Bourne” franchise actress earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature from Columbia University. Fun fact: She dated her “10 Things I Hate About You” co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt during her college years!
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After getting a bachelor’s degree in English in just two years at UCLA, James Franco enrolled in four master’s programs including at Columbia University, where he studied fiction writing. James didn’t quit after completing his graduate degree — instead, he enrolled at Yale to work on his Ph.D. in English.
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