10 Celebrities We Bet You Didn’t Know Pursued Higher Education

Don’t look for the usual suspects like Natalie Portman here, because you won’t find them. We bet that you didn’t know that THESE 10 celebrities went to college and beyond!

-Lucia Peters

It’s September. You know what that means, don’t you? Yep: Back-to-school! In honor of the fact that many of you are probably already hard at work hitting the books and whatnot, we thought we’d take a moment to talk about one of our favorite topics: Celebrities who pursued higher education. Perhaps a common topic, we know; but we’ve put a unique spin on it. What spin, you ask? Well, how about this: You all know that Natalie Portman went to Harvard, and that James Franco went everywhere ever, and so on and so forth; but we bet that you had no idea that THESE 10 celebs have just as impressive– if not more impressive– academic credentials. Read on to find out who has some brainy surprises waiting up their sleeves!

Princess Beatrice

It looks like O She of the Wacky Hats (that’s her on the right there) occasionally stores some brains under those fascinators of hers—the 23-year-old just graduated from Goldsmiths College at the University of London with not one, but two BA Honors degrees: One in history, and one in the history of ideas. Lofty! Over the coming months, her rep says that she plans to “broaden her knowledge and experience to complement her position as a member of the Royal Family.” Beatrice, say hello to the wonderful world of internships.

Amy Poehler

Before she got famous, the Parks and Recreation star lived a double life: Boston College student by day, stand-up comedian by night. For the curious, she majored in communications.This seems to have served her well.

Read Matt Damon vs. Jake Gyllenhaal: Who’s Got the Better Bald Head?

Hugh Laurie

Hugh Laurie is good at a lot of things. In fact, he’s probably good at more things than he should be (is it really fair for someone to be a fantastic actor, AND musician, AND novelist?). But maybe that’s because he’s so darn smart. He didn’t just go to the notoriously elite Cambridge University; he also got two degrees while he was there, one in archaeology and the other in social anthropology. He was also a member of the Cambridge Footlights, along with pals Stephen Fry and Emma Thompson. Apparently smart British actors run in packs.

Dolph Lundgren

Things I didn’t know until right this very moment: Dolph Lundgren, the gigantic Swedish action star who is probably most well-known to children of the ‘80s for playing He-Man in the Masters of the Universe live-action film, has a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Sydney. In fact, he even earn a Fulbright Scholarship to study at MIT, but dropped out in order to pursue acting. Who knew that one of The Expendables was capable of that? Good for him!

Julia Stiles

True story: My freshman year in college, I walked out of my dorm… and ran smack into Julia Stiles. Yep. I was almost responsible for destroying Julia Stiles. This is what happens when you go to Columbia.

More academic all-stars, including John Krasinski and Brooke Shields, up next!